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h'HKOUIOlCAl, SliMlNARY.I
t (It
||i Princeton, IM J.
ISAIAH:
A
NEW TRANSLATION;
WITH
A PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION,
AND
NOTES,
CRITICAL, PHILOLOGICAL, AND EXPLANATORY.
By ROBERT^LOWTH, D.D. F.R.SS. Lond. & Goet.
LORD BISHOP OP LOUDON,
PROM THE TENTH ENGLISH EDITION,
CAREFULLY CORRECTED AND REVISED.
BOSTON:
WILLIAM HILLIARD, 14 WATER STREET.
CAMBRIDGE:
JAMES MUNUOE AND COMPANY.
1834.
THE
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
The design of the following translation of Isaiah, is not only
to give an exact and faithful representation of the words and
of the sense of the Prophet, by adhering closely to the letter of
the text, and treading as nearly as may be in his footsteps ;
but, moreover, to imitate the air and manner of the author, to
express the form and fashion of the composition, and to give
the English reader some notion of the peculiar turn and cast
of the original. The latter part of this design coincides per-
fectly well with the former : it is indeed impossible to give a
just idea of the Prophet's manner of writing, otherwise than
by a close literal version. And yet, though so many literal
versions of this Prophet have been given, as well of old as in
later times, a just representation of his manner, and of the
form of his composition, has never been attempted, or even
thought of, by any translator, in any language, whether an-
cient or modern. Whatever of that kind has appeared in
former translations, (and much indeed must appear in every
literal translation), has been rather the effect of chance than
of design, of necessity than of study : for what room could
there be for study or design in this case, or at least for success
in it, when the translators themselves had but a very imperfect
notion, an inadequate or even false idea, of the real character
of the author as a writer ; of the general nature, and of the
pecuhar form, of the composition ?
It has, 1 think, been universally understood, that the
Prophecies of Isaiah are written in prose. The style, the
thoughts, the images, the expressions, have been allowed to
be poetical, and that in the highest degree; but that they
1
n PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
are written in verse, in measure, or rhythm, or whatever it
is that distinguishes, as poetry, the composition of those
books of the Old Testament which are allowed to be poetical,
such as Job, the Psalms, and the Proverbs, from the
historical books, as mere prose ; this has never been supposed,
at least has not been at any time the prevailing opinion.
The opinions of the learned concerning Hebrew verse
have been various ; their ideas of the nature of it vague,
obscure, and imperfect : yet still there has been a general
persuasion, that some books of the Old Testament are
written' in verse ; but that the writings of the prophets are
not of that number.
The learned Vitringa says,* that Isaiah's composition has
a sort of numbers, or measure; "esse orationem suis ad-
strictam numeris : " he means, that it has a kind of oratorial
number, or measure, as he afterwards explains it ; and he
quotes Scaliger as being of the same opinion, and as adding,
that " however upon this account it could not rightly be
called poetry." t About the beginning of this century,
Herman Von der Hardt, t the Hardouin of Germany,
attempted to reduce Joel's Elegies, as he called them, to
iambic verse : and, consistently with his hypothesis, he
affirmed, that the prophets wrote in verse. This is the only
exeption I meet with to the universality of the contrary
opinion. It was looked upon as one of his paradoxes, and
httle attention was paid to it. But what was his success in
making out Joel's iambics, and in lielping his readers to
form in consequence a more just idea of the character of the
prophetic style, I cannot say, having never seen his treatise
on that subject.
The Jews of early times were of the same opinion, that
the books of the prophets are written in prose, as far as we
have any evidence of their judgment on this subject. Je-
rome § certainly speaks the sense of his Jewish preceptors
as to this matter. Having written his translation of Isaiah
from the Hebrew Verity in stichi, or lines divided according
to the cola and co77Wiata, after the manner of verse,
which was II often done in the prophetic writings for the
• Prolcgom.'in lesaiam, p. 8.
t Scaligrr, Aniniiidvcrs. in Chron. Euscbii, p. 6.
t Sec Wolfii Biblioth. Hebr. torn. ii. p. IGD.
§ Prscf. in Transl. EsaitB ex Hob. Vcritatc.
II Sec Grabc, Prolog, in LXX Intt. torn. i. cop. i. § C.
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. Ill
sake of perspicuity, he cautions his reader " not to mistake
it for metre, as if it were any thing like the Psahns, or the
writings of Solomon ; for it was nothing more than what
was usual in the copies of the prose works of Demosthenes
and Cicero." The later Jews have been uniformly of the
same opinion ; and the rest of the learned world seem to
have taken it up on their authority, and have generally
maintained it.
But if there should appear a manifest conformity between
the prophetical style and that of the books supposed to be
metrical, — a conformity in every known part of the poetical
character, which equally discriminates the prophetical and
the metrical books from those acknowledged to be prose — it
will be of use to trace out and to mark this conformity with
all possible accuracy ; to observe how far the peculiar charac-
teristics of each style coincide ; and to see whether the agree-
ment between them be such as to induce us to conclude,
that the poetical and the prophetical character of style and
composition, though generally supposed to be different, yet
are really one and the same.
This I purpose to do in the following dissertation; and
I the more readily embrace the present opportunity of re-
suming this subject, as what I have formerly written* upon
it seems to have met with the approbation of the learned.
And here I shall endeavour to treat it more at large ; to
pursue it further, and to a greater degree of minuteness ;
and to present it to the English reader in the easiest and
most intelligible form that I am able to give it. The ex-
amples with which I shall illustrate it, shall be more nume-
rous, and all (a very few excepted) different from those al-
ready given ; that they may serve by way of supplement to
that part of the former work, as well as of themselves to
place the subject in the fullest and clearest light.
Now, in order to make this comparison between the pro-
phetical and the poetical books, it will be necessary, in the
first place, to state the true character of the poetical or
metrical style, to trace out carefully whatever plain signs or
indications yet remain of metre, or rhythm, or whatever else
it was that constituted Hebrew verse ; to separate the true,
or at least the probable, from the manifestly false ; and to
* De Sacra Pofisi Hebraeorum Prelect, xviii. xix.
IV PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
give as clear and satisfactory an explanation of the matter
as can now reasonably be expected, in the present imperfect
state of the Hebrew language, and on a subject which for
near two thousand years has been involved in great obscurity,
and only rendered still more obscure by the discordant opin-
ions of the learned, and the various hypotheses which they
have formed concerning it.
The first and moat manifest indication of verse in the
Hebrew poetical books, presents itself in the acrostic or al-
phabetical poems ; of which there happily leraain many ex-
amples, and those of various kinds ; so that we could not
have hoped, or even wished, for more hght of this sort to
lead us on in the very entrance of our inquiry. The na-
ture, or rather the form, of these poems is this : The poem
consists of twenty-two Unes, or of twenty-two systems of
lines, or periods, or stanzas, according to the number of
the letters of the Hebrew alphabet ; and every line, or
every stanza, begins with each letter in its order, as it
stands in the alphabet ; that is, the first hne, or first stan-
za, begins with h, the second with 3, and so on. This
was certainly intended for the assistance of the memory,
and was chiefly employed in subjects of common use, as
maxims of morality, and forms of devotion ; which being
expressed in detached sentences, or aphorisms, (the form
in which the sages of the most ancient times delivered
their instructions,) the inconvenience arising from the sub-
ject, the want of connexion in the parts, and of a regular
train of thought carried through the whole, was remedied
by this artificial contrivance in the form. There are still
extant, in the books of the Old Testament, twelve* of
these poems ; (for I reckon the four first chapters of the
Lamentations of Jeremiah as so many distinct poems) ;
three of them perfectly f alphabetical, in which every line
is marked by its initial letter ; the other nine less perfectly
alphabetical, in which every stanza only is so distinguished.
Of the three former it is to be remarked, that not only
every single line is distinguished by its initial letter, but
that the whole poem is laid out into stanzas ; two I of these
* Psal. XXV. xxxiv. xxxvii. cxi. cxii. cxix. cxlv. Prov. xxxi. 10 — 31.
Lam. i. ii. iii. iv.
t Psal. cxi. cxii. Lam. iii. t Psal. cxi. cxii.
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. V
poems each into ten stanzas, all of two lines, except the two
last stanzas in each, which are of three lines : in these, the
sense and the construction manifestly point out the division
into stauzaa, and mark the limit of every stanza. The
third* of these perfectly alphabetical poentis consists of
twenty-two stanzas of three hnes ; but in this the initial let-
ter of every stanza is also the initial letter of every line of
that stanza ; so that both the lines and the stanzas are in-
fallibly limited : And in all the three poems, the pauses of
the sentences coincide with the pauses of the lines and
stanzas.
It is also further to be observed of these three poems, that
the lines so determined by the initial letters in the same
poem, are remarkably equal to one another in length, in the
number of words nearly, and probably in the number of
syllables ; and that the lines of the same stanza have a re-
markable congruity one with another, in the matter and the
form, in the sense and the construction.
Of the other nine poems less perfectly alphabetical, in
which the stanzas only are marked with initial letters, six t
consist of stanzas of two lines, two+ of stanzas of three
lines, and one 5 of stanzas of four lines ; not taking into the
account at present some irregularities, which in all proba-
bility are to be imputed to the mistakes of transcribers.
And these stanzas likewise naturally divide themselves into
their distinct lines, the sense and the construction plainly
pointing out their hmits ; and the lines have the same con-
gruity one with another in matter and form, as was above
observed in regard to the poems more perfectly alpha-
betical.
Another thing to be observed of the three poems perfectly
alphabetical is, that in two II of them the lines are shorter
than those of the third ** by about one-third part, or almost
half; and of the other nine poems, the stanzas only of
Avhich are alphabetical, that threett consist of the longer
lines, and the six others of the shorter.
Now from these examples, which are net only curious,
but of real use, and of great importance in the present
* Lam. iii.
t Psal. XXV. xxxiv. cxix. cxiv. Prov. xxxi. Lam. iv.
t Lam. i. ii. § Psal. xxxvii.
II Psal. cxi. cxii. ** Lam. iii.
tt Lam. i. ii. iv.
1*
VI PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
inquiry, we may draw some conclusions, which plainly fol-
low from the j)remises, and must be admitted in regard to the
alphabetical poems themselves ; which also may by analogy
be applied with great probabiUty to other poems, where the
lines and stanzas are not so determined by initial letters,
yet which appear in other respects to be of the same kind.
In the first place, we may safely conclude that the poems
perfectly alphabetical consist of verses properly so called ;
of verses regulated by some observation of harmony or ca-
dence ; of measure, numbers, or rhythm. For it is not at
all probable in the nature of the thing, or from examples of
the like kind in other languages, that a portion of mere
prose, in which numbers and harmony are totally disregard-
ed, should be laid out according to a scale of division, which
carries with it such evident marks of study and labour, of
art in the contrivance, and exactness in the execution. And
I presume it will be easily granted in regard to the other
poems which are divided into stanzas by the initial letters,
which stanzas are subdivided by the pauses of the sentence
into lines easily distinguished one from another, commonly
the same number of lines to a stanza in the same poem,
that these are of the same kind of composition with the
former, and that they equally consist of verses : And, in
general, in regard to the rest of the poems of the Hebrews,
bearing evidently the same marks and characteristics of
composition with the alphabetical poems in otlier respects,
and falling into regular lines, often into jegular stanzas,
according to the pauses of the sentences ; which stanzas and
lines have a certain parity or proportion to one another ;
that these likewise consist of verse, — of verse distinguished
from j)rosc, not only by Ihe style, the figures, the diction,
by a lofiine.as of thought and richness of imagery, but by
being divided into lines, and sometimes into systems of
lines ; which lines, having an apparent equality, similitude,
or proportion one to another, were in some sort measured
by the car, and regulated according to some general laws
of metre, rhythm, harmony, or cadence.
Further, we may conclude, from the example of the per-
fectly alpliabetical poems, that wliatever it might be that
constituted Hebrew verse, it certainlj' did not consist in
rhyme, or similar and correspondent sounds at the ends of
the verses ; for, as the ends of the verses in those poems are
infallibly marked, and it plainly appears that the final sylla-
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. Vll
bles of the correspondent verses, whether in distichs or
triplets, are not suiiilar in sound to one another, it is mani-
fest that rhymes, or similar endings, are not an essential
part of Hebrew verses. The grammatical forms of the
Hebrew language in the verbs, and pronouns, and the
plurals of nouns, are so simple and uniform, and bear so
great a share in the termination of words, that similar end-
ings must sometimes happen, and cannot well be avoided ;
but, so far from constituting an essential or principal part
of the art of Hebrew versification, they seem to have been
no object of attention and study, nor to have been industri-
ously sought after as a favourite accessary ornament.
That the verses had something regular in their form and
composition, seems probable from their apparent parity and
uniformity, and the relation which they manifestly bear to
the distribution of the sentence into its members. But as
to the harmony and cadence, the metre or rhythm, of what
kind they were, and by what laws regulated, these examples
give us no light, nor aflford us sufficient principles on which
to build any theory, or to form any hypothesis. For har-
mony arises from the proportion, relation, and correspond-
ence of different combined sounds ; and verse, from the
arrangement of words, and the disposition of syllables, ac-
cording to number, quantity, and accent ; — therefore the
harmony and true modulation of verse depends upon a per-
fect pronunciation of the language, and a knowledge of the
principles and rules of versification ; and metre supposes an
exact knowledge of the number and quantity of syllables,
and, in some languages, of the accent. But the true pro-
nunciation of Hebrew is lost, — lost to a degree far beyond
what can ever be the case of any European language pre-
served only in writing ; for the Hebrew language, like most
of the other Oriental languages, expressing only the con-
sonants, and being destitute of its vowels, has lain now for
two thousand years in a manner mute and incapable of
utterance : the number of syllables is in a great many words
uncertain, the quantity and accent wholly unknown. We
are ignorant of all these particulars, and incapable of ac-
quiring any certain knowledge concerning them ; how then
is it possible for us to attain to the knowledge of Hebrew
verse ? That we know nothing of the quantity of the sylla-
bles in Hebrew, and of the number of them in many words,
and of the accent, will hardly now be denied by any man ;
Viii PHELIMIKARY DISSERTATIOK.
but if any should still maintain the authority of the Masofet-
ical punctuation, (though discordant in many instances from
the imperfect remains of a pronunciation of much earlier date,
and of better authority, that of the Seventy, of Origen, and
other writers,) yet it must be allowed, that no one, accord-
ing to that system, hath been able to reduce the Hebrew
poems to any sort of harmony.* And indeed it is not to
be wondered, that rules of pronunciation, formed, as it is
now generally admitted, above a thousand years after the
language ceased to be spoken, should fail of giving us the
true sound of Hebrew verse. But if it was impossible for
the Masoretes, assisted in some measure by a traditionary
pronunciation delivered down fron;i their ancestors, to attain
to a true expression of the sounds of the language, how is it
possible for us at this time, so much further removed from
the only source of knowledge in this case, the audible voice,
to improve or to amend their system, or to supply a more
genuine system in its place, which may answer our purpose
better, and lay open to us the laws of Hebrew versification ?
The pursuit is vain ; the object of it lies beyond our reach ;
it is not within the compass of human reason or invention.
The question concerning Hebrew metre is now pretty much
upon the same footing with that concerning the Greek ac-
cents. That there were certain laws of ancient Hebrew
metre is very probable ; and that the living Greek language
■was modulated by certain rules of accent is beyond dispute :
but a man born deaf may as reasonably pretend to acquire
an idea of sound, as the critic of these days to attain to the
true modulation of Greek by accent, and of Hebrew by
metre.t
Thus much then, I think, we may be allowed to infer
from the alphabetical poems ; namely, that the Hebrew
poems are written in verse, properly so called ; that the
hnimnny of the verses does r>ot arise from rhyme, that is,
from similar corresponding sounds terminating the verses, but
from some sort of rhythm, probably from some sort of metre,
the laws of which are now altogether unknown, and wholly
undiscoverable ; — yet that there are evident marks of a cer-
tain correspondence of the verses with one another, and of
a certain relation between (he composition of the verses and
* Sec Ilaro, Prologomona in Prtalmos, p. xl. &c.
t Sco A Larger Coiifutulioti of Bisliop Hare's Hebrew Metre; London,
17GG; where Hiuvc fully treated of this subject.
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. IX
the composition of the sentences, — the formation of the for-
mer depending in some degree upon the distribution of the
latter, — so that generally periods coincide with stanzas, mem-
bers with verses, and pauses of the one with pauses of the
other ; which peculiar form of composition is so observable,
as plainly to discriminate in general the parts of the Hebrew
Scriptures which are written in verse, from those which are
written in prose. This will require a larger and more
minute explication, not only as a matter necessary to our
present purpose, that is, to ascertain the character of the
prophetical style in general, and of that of the Prophet
Isaiah in particular, but as a principle of considerable use,
and of no small importance, in the interpretation of the
poetical parts of the Old Testament.
The correspondence of one verse or line with another, I
call parallehsm. When a proposition is delivered, and a
second is subjoined to it, or drawn under it, equivalent, or
contrasted with it in sense, or similar to it in the form of
grammatical construction, tjiese I call parallel lines ; and
the words or phrases, answering one to another in the cor-
responding lines, parallel terms.
Parallel lines may be reduced to three sorts, — parallels
s3'^nonomous, parallels antithetic, and parallels synthetic.
Of each of these I shall give a variety of examples, in order
to shew the various forms under which they appear ; first,
from the books universally acknowledged to be poetical ;
then, correspondent examples from the Prophet Isaiah, and
sometimes also from the other prophets, to shew that the
form and character of the composition is in all the same.
As some of the examples which follow are of many lines,
the reader may perhaps note a single line or two intermixed,
which do not properly belong to that class under which they
are ranged. These are retained, to preserve the connexion
and harmony of the whole passage ; and it is to be observed,
that the several sorts of parallels are perpetually mixed with
one another, and this mixture gives a variety and beauty to
the composition.
First, of parallel lines synonomous ; that is, which corre-
spond one to another, by expressing the same sense in dif-.
ferent but equivalent terms ; when a proposition is delivered,
and is immediately repeated, in the whole or in part, the
X FRELrMINART DISSERTATION.
expression l)eiDg varied, but t}ie sense entirely or nearly the-
same. As in the following examples : —
"■ O- Jehovah, inlhy-strengtb the-king shall-rcjoice;
And-inthy-salvation how greatly shall-hc-exult!
The-desire of-his-hcart thou-hast-granted unto-him;
And-the-request of-his-lips thou-hast-not denied."
Psal. xxi. 1,2:.
"Because I-called, and-ye-refused;
I-stretched-out my-hand, and-no-one regardedj
But-ye-have-defeated all my-counsel;
And-would-not incline to-my-reproof:
I also will-laugh at-your-calamity;
I-will-mock, when-what-you-feared comcth;
When-what-you-feared cometh like-a-devastation ;
And-your-calamity advanceth like-a-tempest;
When-distress and-anguish come upon-you:
Then shall-they-call-upon-me, but-I-will-not answer;
They-shall seek-me-early, but-they-shall not find-mej
Because they-hated knowledge;
And-did-not choose the-fear of-jehovah j
Bid-not incline to-my-counsel;
Contemptuously-rejected all my-reproof :
Thereforc-shall-thcy-eat of-the-fruit of-their-ways;
And-shall-be-satiated with-their-own-devices.
For the-defection of-thc-simple shall-slay-them ;
And-the-security of-fools shall-destroy them."
Prov. i. 24—32:
" Seek-ye Jehovah, while-he-may-be-found;
Call-ye-upon-him, while-he-is-near;
Let-thc-wicked forsake his-way;
And-the-unrighteous man his-thoughts:
And-let-him-return to Jehovah, and-he-will-compassionate
him;
And-unto our-God, for he-aboundeth in forgiveness."
Isa. Iv. 6, 7.
" Fear not, for thou-shalt-not be-ashamed;
And-blush not, for thou-shalt-not be-brought-to-reproach:
For thou-shalt-forget the-shame of-thy-youth;
And-the-reproach of-thy-widowhood thou-shalt-rcmcmber no
more." Isa. liv. 4.
"Hearken unto-mc, ye-that-know righteousness;
The-people in-whosc-heart is-my-law:
Fear not the-rcproach of-wretchcd-man;
Neither be-ye-borne-down by-thcir-rcvilings;..
TRELIMINARY I)rISSERTATIO^^ SI
Por the-moth shall-consume-them like-a-garment;
And-the-worm shall-eat-them like wool:
But-my-righteousness shall-endure for-ever.;
And-mj-salvation to-the-age of-ages," Isa. li. 7, 8.
" Like-mighty -men shall-they-rush-on;
Like- warriors shall-they mount the-wall:
And-every-one in-his-way shall-they-march;
And-they-shall-not turn-aside from-their paths," Joel, ii. 7,
" Blessed-is the-man, that-feareth Jehovah;
That-greatly delighteth^n-his-commandments." Psal, cxii. 1.
" Hearken unto me, 0-house of-Jacob;
And-all the-remnant of-th-e-house of-Israel, Isa, xlvi. 3.
'' Honour Jehovah with-thy-riches;
And-with-the-first-fruits of-all thine-increase." Frov. iii. 9.
" Incline your-ear, and-come unto-me;
Hearken, and-your-soul shall-live." Isa, Iv. 3.
In the foregoing* examples may be observed the diffe-
rent degrees of synonymous parallehsm. The parallel lines
sometimes consist of three or more synonymous terms ;
sometimes of two, which is generally the case when the
verb, or the nominative case of the first sentence is to be
carried on to the second, or understood there ; sometimes
of one only, as in the four last examples. There are also
among the foregoing a few instances, in which the hues con-
sist each of double members, or two propositions. I shall
add one or two more of these, very perfect in their kind : —
•' Bow thy heavens, O Jehovah, and descend^
Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.:
Dart forth lightning, and scatter them;
Shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them," Psal. cxliv. 5, 6.
*'' And they shall build houses, and shall inhabit them;
And they shall plant vineyards, and shall eat the fruit thereof;
They shall not build, and another inhabit;
They shall not plant, and another «at:
For as the days of a tree, shall be the days of my people;^
And they shall wear out the works of their own hands,"
Isa. Ixv, 21, 22.
The terms in English , consisting of several words, are hitherto distinguish-
ed with marks of connexion, — to shew, that they answer to single words in
Hebrew,
Xll PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
Parallels arc also sometimes formed by a repetition of
part of the first sentence : —
''My voice is unto God, and I cry aloud;
My voice is unto God, and he will hearken unto me."
" I will remember the works of Jehovah;
Yea, I will remember thy wonders of old."
" The waters saw thee, O God!
The waters saw thee; they were seized with anguish."
• Psal. Ixxvii. 1. 11. 16.
" For he hath humbled those that dwell on high;
The lofty city, he hath brought her down:
He hath brought her down to the ground,
He hath levelled her with the dust.
The foot shall trample upon her;
The feet of the poor, the steps of the needy."
Isa. xxvi. 5, 6.
" What shall I do unto thee, O Ephraim!
What shall I do unto thee, O Judah!
For your goodness is as the morning cloud,
And as the early dew it passeth away." Hosea, vi. 4.
Sometimes in the latter line a part is to be supphed from
the former to complete the sentence : —
" And those that persecute me thou wilt make to turn their
backs to me;
Those that hate rae,* and I will cut them off."
2 Sam. xxii. 41.
" The mighty dead tremble from beneath;
The waters, and they that dwell therein. Job, xxvi. 5.
*' And I looked, and there was no man;
Even among the idols,| and there was no one that gave ad-
vice; "
" And I inquired of them, and [there was no one] that returned
an answer." Isa. xli. 28.
Further, thers arc parallel triplets — when three lines cor-
respond together, and form a kind of stanza, of which, how-
ever, only two commonly are synonymous : —
* In the parallel place, Psal. xviii. the poetical form of the sentence is much
hurt, by the removing of the conjunction from the second to the first word in
this line ; but a MS. in that place reads as here.
t See the note on the place.
TPBELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XIH,
•' The wicked shall see it and it shall grieve him ;
He shall gnash his teeth, and pine away ;
The desire of the wicked shall perish," Psal. cxii. 10..
" That day, let it become darkness ;
Let not God from above inquire after it ; ^
Nor let the flowing light radiate upon it.
That night, let utter darkness seize it.
Let it not be united with the days of the year ;
Let it not come into the number of the months.
Let the stars of its twilight be darkened ;
Let it look for light, and may there be none ;
And Icit it not behold the eyelids of the morning."
Job, iii. 4. 6. 9.
" And he shall snatch on the right, and yet be hungry ;
And he shall devour on the left, and not be satisfied ;
Every man shall devour the flesh of his neighbour."*
Isa. ix. 20.
■' Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe ;
Come away, get you down, for the wine-press is full ;
The vats overflow ; for great is their wickedness."
Joel, iii. 13,
There are likewise parallels consisting of four lines ; two
xlistichs being so connected togetlier, by the sense and the
construction, as to make one stanza. Such is the form of
the xxxviith Psalni, which is evidently laid out by the initial
letters in stanzas of four lines; though in regard to that
disposition some irregularities are found in the present copies.
From tliis Psalm, which gives a sufficient warrant for consid-
ering the union of two distichs as making a stanza of four
lines, I shall take the first example : —
'' Be not moved with indignation against the evil-doers 5
Nor with zeal against the workers of iniquity :
For like the grass they shall soon be cut off;
And like the green herb they shall wither.
Psal. xxxvii. 1, 2.
" The ox knoweth his possessor ;
And the ass the crib of his lord :
But Israel doth not know Me ;*
Neither doth my people consider." Isa. i. 3.
^' And I said, I have laboured in vain ;
For nought and for vanity I have spent my strength :
* See the note on the place.
2
Xiv PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
Nevertheless my cause is with Jehovah ;
And the reward of my work with my God. Isa. xlix. 4.
" Jehovah shall roar from Sion ;
And shall utter his voice from Jerusalem :
And the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn ;
And the head of Carmel shall wither." Amos, i. 2.
In like manner, some periods may be considered as mak-
mg stanzas of five lines, in whicli the odd line or member
either comes in between two distich?, or after two distichs
makes a full close : —
" If thou wouldst seek early unto God ;
And make thy supplication to the Almighty ;
If thou wert pure and upright;
Verily now would he rise up in thy defence ;
And make peaceable the dwelling of thy righteousness.
Job, viii. 5, 6.
" They bear him on the shoulder ; they carry him about ;
They set him down in his place, and he standeth;
From his place he shall not remove;
To him, that crieth unto him, he will not answer;
Neither will he deliver him from his distress."
Isa. xlvi. 7.
" Who is wise, and will understand thefee things?
Prudent, and will know them ?
For right are the ways of Jehovah;
And the just shall walk in them;
But the disobedient shall fall therein." Hosea, xiv. 9.
" And Jehovah shall roar out of Sion;
And from Jerusalem shall utter his voice;
And the heavens and the earth shall tremble :
But .lehovah will be the refuge of his people;
And a strong defence to the sons of Israel." Joel, iii. 16.
" Who establisheth the word of his servant;
And accomplisheth the counsel of his messengers :
Who sayeth to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited;
And to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built;
And her desolate places I will restore." Isa. xliv. 26.
In flanzas of four lines, sometimes the parallel lines an-
swer to one another alternately ; the first to the third, and
the second to the fuurtli : —
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XV
" As the heavens are high above the earth ;
So high* is his goodness over them that fear him:
As remote as the east is from the west;
So far hath he removed from us our transgressions."
Psal. ciii. 11, 12.
" And ye said, Nay, but on horses will we flee;
Therefore shall ye be put to flight:
And on swift coursers will we ride;
Therefore shall they be swift, that pursue you."
Isa, XXX. 16.
And a stanza of five lines admits of the same elegance : —
" Who is there among you that feareth Jehovah.''
Let him hearken unto the voice of his servant:
That walketh in darkness, and hath no liglit.''
Let him trust in the name of Jehovah;
And rest himself on the support of his God." Isa. I. 10.
The second sort of parallels are the antithetic, — when two
lines correspond with one another by an opposition of terms
and sentiments ; when the second is contrasted with the
first, sometimes in expressions, sometimes in sense only.
Accordingly the degrees of antithesis are various ; from an
exact contraposition of word to word through the whole
sentence, down to a general disparity, with something of a
contrariety, in the two propositions.
Thus, in the foUov/ing examples : —
" A wise son rejoiceth his father ;
But a foolish son is the grief of his mother." Prov. x. 1.
Where every word hath its opposite ; for the terms father
and mother are, as the logicians say, relatively opposite.
" The memory of the just is a blessing ;
But the name of the wicked shall rot." Prov. x. 7.
Here there are only two antithetic terms ; for memory and
name are synonymous.
"There is that scattereth, and still increaseth ;
And that is unreasonably sparing, yet groweth poor."
Prov. xi. 24.
HDJ ; compare tho next verse ; and see Isaiah, Iv. 9, and the note there.
XVI PRELI.niliVARY DrSSERTATIOK".
1 r(?rc there is a kind of double antithesis ; one ijctwccn thc^
two hnes themselves ; and hkcwise a subordinate oppositioiv
between the two jiarts of each.
" Many seek the face oftlie prince ;
Eut the determination concerning a man is from Jehovah."
Prov. x.xix. 2C.
Where the opposiliou i.-^ chiefly between the single terms,
the Prince and Jehovah : but there is an opposition like-
Vii:^e in the general sentimciit ; wiiich expresses, or inti-
mates, the vanity of dependin*^ on the former, without
seeking the favour of the latter. In the following, there is
much the same opj)o?ition of sentiment, \vithoul an}' con-
traposition of terms at all : —
" The lot is cast into the lap ;
, But the whole determination of it is from Jehovah."
Prov. xvi. 33.
That is, the event seems to be the work of chance, but is
really the direction of Providence.
The foregoing examples are ail taken from the Proverbs
of Solomon, where ihey abound : for this form is peculiarly
adapted to that kind of writing — to adages, aphorisnis, and
detached sentences. Indeed, the elegance, acuteness, and
force of a great number of Solomon's wise sayings, arise in
a great measure from the antithetic form, the opposition of
diction and sentiment. We are not therefore to expect
fic(}uent instances of it in the other poems of the Old Tes-
tament; especially those that are elevated in the style, and
more connected in the parts. However, I shall add a few
examples of the hke kind from the liigher poetr}'.
" These in chariots, and those in horses ;
But we in the name of Jehovah our God will be strong.*
They arc bowed down, and fallen ;
But we are risen, and maintain ourselves firm." Psal. xx. 7, 8..
" For his wrath is but for a moment, his favour for life ;
Sorrow may lodge for the evening, but in the morning glad-
ness." Psal. XXX. 5<
" Yet a little while, and the wicked shall be no more ;
Thou shalt look at his place, and he shall not be found :
* yj:: , so LXX, Syr. iEthiop
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. Xvii
But the meek shall inherit the land;
And delight themselves in abundant prosperity."
Psal. xxxvii. 10, 11,
In the last example the opposition lies between the two parts
of a stanza of four lines, the latter distich being opposed to
the former. So likewise the following :—
" For the mountains shall be removed;
And the hills shall be overthrown :
But my kindness from thee shall not be removed;
And the covenant of my peace shall not be overthrown."
Isa. liv. 10.
'* The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stone;
The sycamores are cut down, but we will replace them with
cedars." Isa. ix. 10.
Here the lines themselves are synthetically parallel ; and the
opposition lies between the two members of each.
The third sort of parallels I call synthetic or constructive
— where the parallelism consists only in the similar form of
construction ; in which w^ord does not answer to word, and
sentence to sentence, as equivalent or opposite ; but there is a
correspondence and equality between different propositions, in
respect of the shape and turn of the w^hole sentence, and of
the constructive parts — such as noun answering to noun, verb
to verb, member to member, negative to negative, interroga-
tive to interrogative.
" Praise ye Jehovah, ye of the earth;
Ye sea-monsters, and all deeps:
Fire and hail, snow and vapour;
Stormy wind, executing his command;
Mountains, and all hills;
Fruit-trees, and all cedars:
Wild beasts, and all cattle;
Reptiles, and birds of wing:
Kings of the earth, and all peoples;
Princes, and all judges of the earth:
Youths, and also virgins;
Old men, together with the children:
Let them praise the name of Jehovah;
For his name alone is exalted;
His majesty, above earth and heaven." Psal. cxlviii. 7 — 13,
2*
XVllI PRELnaiNARY DrSSERTATIOK".
" With' him is wisdom and might;
To him belong counsel and understanding.
Lo! he pulleth down, and it shall not be built;
.He encloseth a man, and he shall not be set loose.
Lo! he withholdeth the waters, and they are dried up;
And he sendeth them forth, and they overturn the earth.
With him is strength, and perfect existence;
The deceived, and the deceiver, are his." Job, xii. 13 — IG
" Is such then the fast which I choose;
That a man should afflict his soul for a day ?
Is it, that he should bow down his head like a bulrush;
And spread sackcloth and ashes for his couch?
Shall this be called a fast;
And a day acceptable to Jehovah ? —
Is not this the fast that 1 choose ?
To dissolve the bands of wickedness;
To loosen the oppressive burthens;
To deliver those that are crushed by violence;
And that ye should break asunder every yoke?
Is it not to distribute thy bread to the hungry;
And to bring the wandering poor into thy house?
When thou seest the naked, that thou clothe him;
And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth like the morning;
And thy wounds shall speedily be healed over:
And thy righteousness shall go before thee;
And the glory of Jehovah shall bring up thy rear."
Isa. Ixiii. 5 — 8.
or the constinctive kind is most commonly the parallelism
of stanzas of thice linosi ; tliough the}^ are sometimes synony-
mous throughout, and often have two lines synonymous ;
examples of both which are above given. The following are
constructively parallel : —
" Whatsoever Jehovah pleaseth,
That docth he in the heavens, and in the earth;
In the sea, and in all the deeps:
Causing the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Making the lightnings with the rain;
Bringing forth the wind out of his treasures."
Psal. cx.xxv G, 7
" The Lord Jehovah hath opened mine ear.
And I was not rebellious;
Neither did I withdraw myself backward, —
I gave my back to the smitcrs.
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XIX
And my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair ;
My face I hid not from shame and spitting." Isa. 1. 5, 6.
^' Thou shalt sow, but shall not reap;
Thou shalt tread the olive, but shalt not anoint thee with oil;
And the grape, but shalt not drink wine." Micah, vi. 15.
Of the same sort of parallelism are those passages fre-
quent in the poetic books, where a definite number is twice
put for an indefinite ; this being followed by an enumera-
tion of particulars, naturally throws the sentences into a
parallelism, which cannot be of any other than the synthetic
kind. This seems to have been a favourite ornament. There
are many elegant examples of it in the xxxth chapter of
Proverbs, to which I refer the reader ; and shall here give
one or two from other j«laces.
'^ These six things Jehovah hateth ;
And seven are the abomination of his soul : —
Lofty eyes, and a lying tongue ;
And hands shedding innocent blood :
A heart fabricating wicked thoughts ;
Feet hastily running to mischief :
A false witness breathing out lies ;
And the sower of strife between brethren," Prov. vi. 16 — 19.
*' Give a portion to seven, and also to eight ;
For thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth."
Eccl. xi. 2.
*' These two things have befallen thee; who shall bemoan thee?
Desolation and destruction, the famine and the sword ; who
shall comfort thee? " Isa. li. 19.
that is, taken alternately, desolation by famine, and de-
struction by the sword. Of which alternate construction I
shall add a remarkable example or two, where the parallel-
ism arises from the alternation of the members of the sen-
tences : —
" I am black, but yet beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem :
Like the tents of Kedar ; like the pavilions of Solomon."
Cant. i. 5.
that is, black as the tents of Kedar, (made of dark-colour-
ed goats hair) ; beautiful as the pavilions of Solomon.
" On her house-tops, and to her open streets,
Every one howleth, descendeth with weeping." Isa. xv. 3.
XX PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
that is, every one howlelh on l\cr hoase-tops, and descend-
etli with weeping to her open streets.
The reader will observe in the foregoing examples, that
though there arc perhaps no two lines corresponding one
with another as cciuivalent. or opposite in terms ; yet there
is a parallelism ec|ually apparent, and almost as striking,
which arises from the similar foiiii and ei[uality of the lines^
from the correspondence of the members and the construc-
tion ; the consequence of which is a harmony and rhythm
little inferior in effect to that of the two kinds preceding.
The degrees of the correspondence of the lines in this last
sort of parallels must, from the nature of it, be various.
Sometimes the parallelism is more, sometimes less exact ;
sometimes hardly at all apparent. It requires indeed parti-
cular attention, much study of the genius of the language,
much habitude in the analysis of the construction, to be able
in all cases to see and to distinguish the nice rests and
pauses which ought to be made, in order to give the period
or the sentence its intended turn and cadence, and to each
part its due time and proportion. The Jewish critics,
called the Masoretes, were exceedingly attentive to their
language in this part, even to a scrupulous exactness and
subtile refinement, as it appears from that extremely compli-
cated system of grammatical j)unctuation, more embarrass-
ing_jhan iiseful, which they have inventett^'Tt is tlierefore
not improbable, that they might have had some insight into
this matter ; and, in distinguishing the parts of the sentence
by accents, might have had regard to the harmony of the
period and the proportion of the membcrs,^ as well as to the
strict grammatical disposition of the constructive parts. Of
this, I think, I perceive evident tokens ; for they sometimes
seem to have more regard in distributing the sentence to
the poetical or rhetorical harmony of the period, and the
proportion of the meinl)crs, than to the grammatical con-
struction. To explain what I mean, I shall here give some
examples, in which the Masoretes, in distinguishing tb.e sen-
tence into its parts, have given marks of pauses perfectly
agreeable to the poetical rhythm, but such as the gramma-
tical construction does not re(iuirc, and scarcely admits.
Though it is a dillicult matter to know the precise quantity
of time which tliey allot to every distinctive ])oint; for it
depends on the relation and proportion which it bears to
the whole arrangement of points throughout the sentence;
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXI
find though it is impossible to express the great variety of
them by our scanty system of punctuation,— yet I shall en-
deavour to mark them out to the English reader, in a rude
manner, so as to give him some notion of what 1 imagine it
to have l)eeti their design to express. Thus then they dis-
tinguish the following sentences : —
" And they that recompense evil for good ;*
Are mine adversaries, because I follow what is good."
Psal. xxxviii. 20.
" Upon Jehovah, in my distress ;*
I called, and he heard me."
" Long hath my soul had her dwelling ;*
With him that hateth peace." Psal. cxx. 1, 6.
" I love Jehovah, for he hath heard ;*
The voice of my supplication.
I will walk, before Jehovah ;*
In the land of the living.
What shall I return unto Jehovah ;*
For all the benefits which he hath bestowed on me?
My vows I will pay to Jehovah;*
Now in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the eyes of Jehovah ;*
Is the death of his saints." Psal. cxvi. 1. 9. 12. 14, 15.
" Yea the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof,!
Shall not send forth their light." Isa. xiii. 10.
" In that day, shall his strongly fenced cities become,^
Like the desertion of the Hivites and the Amorites.
Isa. xvii, 9.
" For the glorious name of Jehovah shall be unto us,"}"
A place of confluent streams, of broad rivers."
Isa. xxxiii. 21.
" That she hath received at the hand of Jehovah,!
Double of the punishment of all her sins." Isa. xl. 2.
Of the three difitrent sorts of parallels, as ahove explain-
ed, every one hath its peculiar character and proper elfect ;
* Athnac. t Zakepii-katon. + Rcbiah.
Athnac in the three metrical books, as the Jews account thcni, is but the third
in order of power among the distinctive points ; but, however, always takes
place when the period is of two members only ; in ;dl the other books he is
second : in the latter, therefore, Rcbiah and Zakcph-katon, which come next to
Athnac, have nearly the same distinctive power as Athnac has in the former.
They will scarce be thought over-rated at a comma.
rtXK PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION'.
and therefore the}' are dinerently cmplo3'ed on difTerenC
occasions ; and that sort of paralleli.sni is chiefly made use
of whicii i:j best adapted to the nature of the subject and of
the poem. Synonymous parallels have the appearance of
art and concinnity, and a studied elegance : they prevail
chiefly in shorter poems; in many of the Psahns ; in Ba-
laam's prophecies ; frequently in those of Isaiah which are
most of them distinct poems of no great length. The an-
tithetic parallelism gives an acutencss and force to adages
and moral sentences ; and therefore, as I observed before,
abounds in Solomon's Proverbs, and elsewhere is not often
to be met with. The poem of Job, being on a large plan,
and in a high tragic style, though very exact in the division
of the lines, and in the parallelism, and affording many fine
examples of the synonymous kind, yet consists chiefly of the
constructive. A happy mixture of the several sorts gives an
agreeable variety ; and they serve mutually to recommend
and set ofT one another.
1 mentioned above, that there appeared to be two sorts
of Hebrew verses, diflfering from one another in regard to
their length : the examples hitherto given are all, except
one, of the shorter kind of verse. The longer, though they
admit of every sort of parallelism, yet belonging for the
most part to the last class, that of constructive [)aiallels, I
shall treat of them in this place, and endeavour to explain
the nature, and to point out the marks of them, as fully and
exactly as I can.
This distinction of Hebrew verses into longer and shorter,
is founded on the authorit}^ of the alphabetical poems ; one
third of the whole number of which are manifestly of the
longer sort of verse, the rest of the shorter. I do not pre-
sume exactly to define by the number of syllables, supposing
we could with some probability determine it, the limit that
separates one sort of verse from the other, so that every
verse exceeding or falling short of that number shoulii be
always accounted a long or a short verse ; all that I ailirm
is this, — that one of the three poems perfectly alphabetical,
and therefore infidlibly divided into its verses ; and three of
the nine other alphal)eiical poems, divided into their verses,,
after the manner of the perfectly alphabetical; with the
greatest degree of probability ; that these four poems, being
the four lirsl Lamentations of Jeremiah, fall into verses.
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXIU
Ciboiit one-thiit! longer, taking them one witli another, than
those of the other eight alphabetical poems. I shall first
give an example of these long verses from a poem perfectly
alphabetical, in which therefore the limits of the verses are
unerringly defined : —
■" I am the man that hath seen affliction, by the rod of his
anger:
He hath led me, and made me walk, in darkness, not in
light:
Even again turneth he his hand against me, all the day long.
He hath made old my flesh and my skin, he hath broken my
bones:
He hath built against me, and hath compassed me, v/ith gall
and travail:
He hath made me dwell in dark places, as the dead of old."
Lam. iii. 1 — 6.
The following is from the first Lamentation, in which the
stanzas are defined by initial letters, and are, like the former,
of three lines :—
" How doth the city solitary sit, she that was full of people!
How is she become a widow, that was great among the na-
tions!
Princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!
She weepeth sore in the night, and her tear is upon her
cheek:
She hath none to comfort her, among all her lovers:
All her friends have betrayed her, they became her enemies."
Lam. i. 1, 2.
I shall now give examples of the same sort of verse, where
the limits of the verses are to be collected only from the poeti-
cal construction of the sentences ; — and first from the books
acknowledged on all hands fo be poetical ; and of these we
must have recourse to the Psalms only, for I believe there
is not a single instance of this sort of verse to be found in
the poem of Job, and scarce any in the Proverbs of Solo-
mon.
*' The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple:
The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of Jehovah is clear, enlightening the
eyes:
The fear of Jehovah is pure, enduring for ever;
XXIV PRELIMTXATIY DISSERTATION.
The judgments of Jehovah are truth; they are altogether
righteous:
More desirable than gold, and than much fine gold;
And sweeter than honey, and the dropping of honey-combs."
Psal. xix. 7—10.
" That our sons may be like plants, growing up in their
youth ;
Our daughters hke the corner-pillars, carved for the struc-
ture of a palace :
Our store-houses full, producing all kinds of provision :
Our flocks bringing forth thousands, ten thou:<ands in our
fields :
Our oxen strong to labour ; no irruption, no captivity ;
And no outcry in our streets." Psal. cxliv. 12 — 14.
^' Oh ! how great is thy goodness which thou hast treasured
up, for them that fear thee ;
Which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee, before
the sons of men !
Thou wilt hide them in the secret place of thy presence,
from the vexations of man ;
Thou wilt keep them safe in the tabernacle, from the strife
of tongues." Psal. xxxi. 19, 20.
" A sound of a multitude in the mountains, as of many people ;
A sound of the tumult of kingdoms, of nations gathered to-
gether :
Jehovah God of Hosts mustereth the host for the battle.
They come from a distant land, from the end of heaven ;
Jehovah and the instruments of his wrath, to destroy the
whole land." Isa. xiii. 4, 5.
" They are turned backward, they are utterly confounded,
who trust in the graven image ;
Who say unto the molten image, ye are our gods !"
Isa. xlii. 17.
*' They are ashamed, they are even confounded, his * adver-
saries all of them ;
■ Together they retire in confusion, the fabricators of images :
liut Israel shall be saved in Jehovah, with eternal salvaticin ;
Ye shall not be ashamed, neither shall ye be confounded, to
the ages of eternity." Isa. xlv. IG, 17.
These examples, all except the two fir^^, are of long
verses lliruwii i:i irregularly, but with design, between
* See the note on the place.
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXV
verses of another sort ; among which they stand out, as it
were, somewhat distinguished in regard to their matter as
well as their form.
I think I perceive some peculiarities in the cast and»
structure of these vers^es, which mark them, and distinguish
them from those of the other sort. The closing pause of
each line is generally very full and strong; and in each line,
commonly towards the end, at least beyond the middle of
it, there is a small rest or interval, depending on the sense
and grammatical construction, which I would call a half-
pause.
The conjunction i, the common particle of connexion,
which abounds in the Hebrew language, and is very often
used v.'ithout any necessity at all, seems to be frequently and
studiously omitted at the half-pause ; the remaining clause
being added, to use a grammatical term, by apposition to
some word preceding ; or coming in as an adjunct, or cir-
cumstance depending on the former part, and completing
the sentence. This gives a certain air to these verses,
which may be esteemed in some sort as characteristic of the
kind.
The first four Lamentations are four distinct poems, con-
sisting uniformly and entirely of * ihe long verse, which may
therefore be properly called the Elegiac verse — from those
elegies, which give the plainest and the most undoubted ex-
amples of it. There may perhaps be found many other
very probable examples in the same kind ; but this is what I
cannot pretend to determine with any certainty. Such, I
think, are the 42d and 43d Psalms ; which I imagine make
* In the second Lamentation, the second line of the fourth period is deficient
in length ; and so likewise is the 31st verse of the third Lamentation. In the
former, two words are lost out of the text ; in the latter, one. This will plain
appear by supplying those words from the Chaldce paraphrase, which has hap-
pily preserved them. They prove their own genuineness by making the line
of a just length, and by completely restoring the sense ; which in the former is
otherwise not unexceptionable, in the latter manifestly imperfect. I will ad
the lines, with the words supplied included in crotchets.
" And he slew [every youth] all that were desirable to the eye."
" For the Lord will not cast ofr[his servants] forever.''
3
XXVI PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION".
one entire poem,* and ought not to have been divided into
two Pi^nhns : the Unes are all of the longer kind, except the
third line of the intercalary stanza three times inserted ;
which third lino, like (hat at the close of an example given
above from the 144th Psalm, is of the shorter kind of verse,
somewhat like tlie Parff»miac verse of the Greeks, which
commonly makes the close of a set of Anapa-stic verses.
Such likewise may perhaps be the 101st Psalm, which seems
to consist of fourteen long verses, or seven distiehs, thus di-
vided : —
" Mercy and judgment Mdll I celebrate ; to thee, O Jehovah,,
will I sing.
I will act circumspectly in the perfect way ; when wilt thou
come unto me ?
I will walk with a perfect heart, in the midst of my house ;
I will not set before mine eyes, a wicked thing ;
Him that dealeth unfaithfully, I hate ; he shall not cleave
unto me ;
A perverse heart shall remove from me ; the wicked I will not
know.
Whoso slandereth in secret his friend, him will I destroy.
The lofty of eyes, and the proud of heart, him I will not en-
dure.
Mine eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may
dwell with me :
Whoso walketh in the perfect way, he shall minister unto me.
He shall not dwell within my house, who practiseth deceit.
He that speaketh falsehood, shall not be established in my
sight.
Every morning will I destroy all the wicked of the land ;
To cut off, from the city of Jehovah, all the workers of ini-
quity."
The sublune ode of Isaiah in the 14th chapter is all of
this kind of verse, except, perhaps, a verse cr two towards
the end ; and the prophecy against Scnacherib in the 37th
chapter, as far as it addressed Senacherib himself.
I venture to submit to the judgment of the candid reader
the preceding observTitions, upon a subject which hardly
admits of proof and certainty ; which is rather a matter of
opinion and of taste, than of science ; especially in the latter
* This ronjcrtiirc, ofTcrrd some years ago, has since been confirmed by twrn-
ly-tvvo MJSS, which join them together.
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXVU
part, which endeavours to establish, and to point out the dif-
ference of two sorts of verse, the longer and the shorter. For
though the third Lamentation of Jeremiah gives a clear and
indubitable example of the elegiac or long verse, and the two
Psalms perfectly alphabetical of the shorter ; yet the whole
art of Hebrew versification, except only what appears in the
construction of the sentences, being totally lost, it is not easy
to try by them other passages of verse, so as to draw any
certain conclusion in all cases, whether they are of the same
kind or not ; And that, for this among other reasons ; be-
cause what I call the half-pausC; which I think prevails for
the most part in the longer verses, is sometimes so strong
and so full in the middle of the hue, that it seems naturally
to resolve it into a distich of two short verses. I readily
therefore acknowledge, that in settling the distribution of
the lines, or verses, in the following translation, I have had
frequent doubts and particularly in determinmg the long
and short verses. I am still uncertain in regard to many
places, whether two lines ought not to be joined to make one,
or one line divided into two. But whatever doubts may re-
main concerning particulars, yet, upon the whole, I should
liope that the method of distribution here proposed, of sen-
tences into stanzas and verses in the poetical books of Scrip-
ture, v.ill appear to have some foundation, and even to carry
with it a considerable degree of probability. Though no
complete system of rules concerning this matter can perhaps
be formed, which v/ill hold good in every particular ; yet
this way of considering the subject may have its use, in fur-
nishing a principle of interpretation of some consequence,
in giving a general idea of the style and character "of the
Hebrew poctiy, and in shewing the close conformity of style
and character between great part of the prophetical writings,
and the other books of the Old Testament universally ac-
knowledged to be poetical.
And that the reader may not think his pains wholly lost,
in labouring through this long disquisition concerning sen-
tences and members of sentences, in weighing words and
balancing periods, I shall endeavour to shew him something
of the use and application of the preceding observations ;
and to convince him, that this branch of criticism, minute
as it may appear, yet merits the attention of the translator
and of the interpreter of the Holj Sciiptures ; so large a part
XXviii PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
of which is entirely poetical, and where occasional pieces of
poctr}' arc intcrsjiersed through the whole.
It is incumbent on every translator to study the manner
of his author; to mark the peculiarities of his style, to imi-
tate his features, his air, his gesture, and, as far as the dif-
ference of language will permit, even his voice ; in a word,
to give a just and expressive resemblance of the original.
If he does not carefully attend to this, he will sometimes fail
of entering into his meaning ; he will always exhibit him un-
like himself, — in a dress, that will appear strange and unbe-
coming to all that are in any degree acquainted with him.
Sebastian Castellio stands in the first rank for critical abili-
ties and theological learning, among the modern translators
of Scripture ; but, by endeavouring to give the whole compo-
sition of his translation a new cast, to throw it out of the
Hebrew idiom, and to make it adopt the Latin phrase and
structure in its stead, he has given us something that is
neither Hebrew nor Latin : the Hebrew manner is destroyed,
and the Latin manner is not perfectly acquired ; we regret
the loss of the Hebrew simplicity, and we are disgusted with
the perpetual affectation of Latin elegance. This is in gen-
eral the case, but chiefly in the poetical parts. Take the
following for a specimen.
" Quum Israelitee ex ^gypto, quum Jacobaea domus emigraret
ex populo barbaro,
Judoei Israclitae Doo fuere sanctitati atque potestati.
Quo vise, mare fugit, et Jordanis retroccssit.
Monies arietum, colles ove natorum ritu exiliverunt."
Surely to this even the barl)arism of the Vulgate is pre-
ferable ; for though it has no elegance of its own, yet it still
retains the form, and gives us some idea of the force and
spirit of the Hebrew. 1 will subjoin it here, for it needs not
fear the comparison.
" In exitu Israel de iEgypto, domus Jacob de populo barbaro,
Facta est Juda;a sanctificatio ejus, Israel potcstas ejus.
Mare vidit, et fugit: Jordanis conversus est rctrorsum.
Montes exultaverunt ut arietes: et colics sicut agni ovium."
Flatness and insipidity will generally be the consequence
of a deviation from the native manner of an original, which
has a real merit and a peculiar force of its own : for it will
be very difficult to compensate the loss of this by any adveu-
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXlS.
iitious ornaments. To express fully and exactly the sense
of the author is indeed the principal, but not the whole duty
of the translator. In a work of elegance and genius, he is
not only to inform, he must endeavour to please ; and to
•please by the same means, if possible, by which his author
pleaseg. If this pleasure arises in a great measure from the
shape of the composition and the form of the construction,
as it does in the Hebrew poetry perhaps beyond any other
example whatsoever, the translator's eye ought to be always
intent upon this : to neglect this, is to give up all chance of
success, and all pretension to it. The importance of the sub-
ject, and the consequent necessity of keeping closely to the
letter of the original, has confined the translators of Scrip-
ture within such narrow limits, that they have been forced,
whether they designed it or not, and even sometimes con-
trary to their design, as in the case of Castellio, to retain
much of the Hebrev/ manner. This is remarkably the case
in our vulgar translation, the constant use of which has ren-
dered this manner familiar and agreeable to us. We have
adopted the Hebrew taste ; and what is with judgment, and
upon proper occasion, well expressed in that taste, hardly ever
fails to suggest the ideas of beauty, solemnity, and elevation.
To shew the difference in this respect, I shall liere give an
example or two of a free and loose translation, yet suffi-
ciently well expressing the sense, contrasted with anothei"
translation of the same, as strictly literal as possible.
1 . ^' The merciful and gracious Lord hath so done his mar-
vellous works, that they ought to be had in remembrance."
Psal. cxi. 4. Old Version.
2. " Lo! children and the fruit of the womb are an heritage
and gift, that cometh from the Lord." Psal. cxxvii. 4. O. V,
3. " O put not your trust in princes, nor in any child of
man; for there is no help in them.
" For when the breath of man goeth forth, he shall turn
again to his earth; and then all his thoughts perish.
4. " The Lord thy God, O Sion, shall be king for evermore,
and throughout aU generations. Psal. cxlvi. 2, 3. 10. O. V.
1 . " He hath made a memorial of his wonders : gracious and
of tender mercy is Jehovah."
2. " Behold, an heritage from Jehovah are children; a re-
wardj the fruit of the womb."
3*
XXX PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
S. " Trust ye not in princes; in the son of man, in whom is
no salvation.
" His breath goeth forth; he returneth to his earth; in that
day his thoughts perish.
4. "Jehovah shall reign forever; thy God, O Sion, from
age to age,"
The former examples are mere prose ; the latter retain
the outlines and the features of the original Hebrew, and
from that cause alone are still poetry.
But this strict attention to the form and fashion of the
conijiosition of the sacred writings of the Old Testament
is not only useful, and even necessary, in the translator
who is ambitious of preserving in his copy the force,
and spirit, and elegance of the original ; it will be of
great use to him likewise merely as an interpreter, and
will often lead him into the meaning of obscure words
and phrases : sometimes it will suggest the true reading,
where the text in our present copies is faulty ; and will
verify and confirm a correction offered on the authority
of MSS, or of the ancient versions. I shall add a few ex-
amples, as evidences of what is here advanced. One short
passage of Isaiah will furnish a number sufficient for our
purpose ; and the observant reader will find seveial more in
the version and notes subjoined.
" Wherefore hear ye the word of Jehovah, ye scoffers ;
Ye who to this people in Jerusalem utter sententious speeches.
Who say, We have entered into a covenant with death ;
And with the grave we have made a treaty.
But your covenant %vith death shall be broken ;
And your treaty with the grave shall not stand."
Isa. xxviii. 14, 15. 18.
'biffD, ye that ride this people, says our version ; and so the
generality of interpreters ancient and modern. But this
prophecy is not addressed to the rulers of the people, nor
is it at all concerned with them in particular, but is directed
to the Ephraimites in general ; and this part to the scoffers
among them, who ridiculed the denunciations of the pro-
phets, by giving out parabolical sentences, and solemn
speeclies, somewhat in the prophetic style, in opposition to
their prophecies ; of which speeches he gives specimens in the
next verse, as he had done before in the 0th and 10th verses.
"^iVD therefore is parallel and synonymous to •jiv'? 'ma,
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXXI
scoffers ; and is not to be translated rulers, but to be taken'in
the other sense of the word, and rendered, " those that speak
parables." And larchi in this place very properly explains
it, "qui dicunt verba irrisionis parabolice."
The next verse gives us an instance still more remarkable
of the influence which the parallelism has in determining
the sense of words :
" We have entered into a covenant with death ;
And with the grave we have.made "
what? Every one must answer immediately, an agreement,
a bargain, a treaty, or something to the same sense : and so
in effect say ail the versions, ancient and modern. But the
word nin means no such thing in any part of the Bible ;
(except in the 18th verse of this chapter, here quoted, where
it is repeated in the same sense, and nearly in the same
form) ; nor can the lexicographers give any satisfactory
account of the word in this sense ; which however they are
forced to admit from the necessity of the case ; " Recte verto
vocem riTH) perinde ac nnn, v. 18. transaction ein, licet
neutra hac significatione ahbi occurrat : circumstantia enim
orationis earn necessario exigit; " says the learned Vitringa
upon the place. It could not otherwise have been known
that the word had this meaning ; it is the parallelism alone
that determines it to this meaning ; and that so clearly, that
no doubt at all remains concerning the sense of the passage.
Again : —
*^ And your covenant with death shall he broken :"
But 133 means to cover, to cover sin, and so to expiate, &c.
and is never used in the sense of breaking or dissolving- a
covenant, though that notion so often occurs in the Scrip-
tures ; nor can it be forced into this sense, but by a great deal
of far-fetched reasoning. Besides, it ought to be msD, or
"iSDn, in the feminine form, to agree with nnn. So that
the word, as it stands, makes neither grammar nor sense.
There is great reason therefore to suspect some mistake
in our present copy. The true reading is probably isn,
differing by one letter. So conjectured Houbigant; and
so Archbishop Seeker : and I find their conjecture con-
firmed by the Chaldee paraphrast, who renders it by bD2,
the word which he generally uses in rendering this common
XXXU PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
phrase, n""i3 ">'3n- And this reading is still further con-
firmed b}' the parallcUsm ; for "iDn, shall be broken, in the
first hne, is parallel and synonymous toaipn vh, shall not
sta?id, in the second.
Tlie very same phrases are parallel and synonymous, Isa.
viii. 10.
" Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought, "ism ;
Speak the word, and it shall not stand, Qip' vh).'"
I shall add one example more ; and that of a reading
suggested by the parallelism, and destitute of all authority
of MSS, or ancient versions.
" But mine enemies living are numerous ;
And they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied."
Psal. xxxviii. 19.
The word a"n, living; seems not to belong to this place ;
besides, that the construction of it in the Hebrew is very
unusual and inelegant. The true reading in all probability
is aJH, loithout cause ; parallel and synonymous to ipij;,
wronsrfully^ in the next line, (as in Psal. xxxv. 19.) : which
completes the parallelism through both lines. Let the reader
compare Psal. Ixix. 5. where the very same three terms
in each line are set parallel to one another, just in the same
manner as I suppose they must have been originally here.
Which place likewise furnishes another example in the same
kind : for a fourth term being there introduced in each
line, the fourth term in the last line has been corrupted by
the small mistake of inserting a •' in the middle of it. It has
been well restored by a conjecture of the learned and ingeni-
ous Bishop Hare.
" They that hate me without cause are multiplied beyond the
hairs of my head;
They that are mine enemies wrongfully are more numerous
then the hairs of my locks."
For \-i^ni'r:, who destroy me, read 'nrDi'n, more than my hcks^
parallel to "'^j'xi nn;?i5'n, more than the hairs of 9ny head, in
the first line. The Bishop's conjecture is since confirmed by
seven MSS.
Thus two inveterate mistakes, which have disgraced the
text above two thousand years, (for they arc prior to the
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXXllI
version of the seventy,) are happily corrected, and that, I
think, beyond a doubt, by the parallelism supported by the
example of similar passages.
Rabbi Azarias,* a learned Jew of the sixteenth c:ntury,
has treated of the ancient Hebrew versification upon prin-
ciples similar to those above proposed, and partly coincident
with them : he makes the form of the verse to depend on
the structure of the sentence, and the measures in every
verse to be determined by the several parts of the proposi-
tion. As he is the only one of the Jewish writers, who ap-
pears to have had any just idea at all of this matter ; as his
S3'stem seems to be well founded ; and as his observations
may be of use on the present occasion, both by giving some
degree of authority to the h3^pothesis above explained, and
by setting the subject in a hght somewhat different, — 1 shall
here give the reader at large his opinion upon it.
This author in a large work entitled Meor Enajim, (that
is, The light of the Eyes,) containing a great variety of mat-
ter, historical, critical, and philosophical, takes occasion to
treat of the Hebrew poetry in a separate chapter ; of which
the younger Buxtorf has given a Latin translation, t
" Azarias finding little satisfaction in what former writers
had said upon the subject ; whether those who make the
Hebrew verse consist of a certain number of syllables and
certain feet, like that of the Greeks and Latins ; or those
who exclude all metre, and make the harmony of their verse
to arise from accents, tones, and musical modulations ; which
latter opinion he thinks agreeable to truth ; — and having con-
sulted the most learned of his nation without being able to
obtain any solution of his difficulties ; for they allowed that
there was a sensible difference between the songs and the
other parts of the Hebrew Scriptures when they were read ;
* R. Azarias Min Haadumim, i.e. dc Ruloeis, or Rossi, of Ferrara, finish-
ed his treatise entitled Meor Enajim, a. d. 1573, and published it at Mantua,
the place of his liirth, 1574. Wolfii Biblioth. Hebriea, \ol. i. p. 944.
+ Mantissa Dissertationuni, p. 415. at tlie end of his edition of Cosri.
Suspecting, from some obscurities, that Buxtorf s translation was not very
accurate, I procured the original edition ; and having carefully examined it,
I corrected from it this account of the author's sentiments.
XXXIV PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
a kind of metrical sweetness in the former, which the latter
had not; but whence that difference arose no one could ex-
plain ; — in this state of uncertainty, he long considered the
matter, endeavouring to obtain some satisfaction in his in-
quiries. He at lasC came to the following determination
upon it : — That the sacred songs have undoubtedly certain
meajjures and proportions ; which, however, do not consist
in the number of syllables, perfect or imperfect, according
to the form of the modern verse which the Jews make use
of, and which is borrowed from the Arabians ; (though the
Arabic prosody, he observes, is too complicated to be ap-
plied to the Hebrew language) ; but in the number of things,
and of the parts of things. — that is, the subject, and tiie pre-
dicate, and their adjuncts, in every sentence and proposition.
Thus a phrase, containing two parts of a proposition, con-
sists of two measures ; add another containing two more, an"d
they become four measures ; another again, containing three
parts of a proposition, consists of three measures ; add to it
another of the like, and you have six measures.
'• For example ; in the Song of Moses, " Thy-right-hand,
0-Jehovah," is a phrase consisting of two terms, or parts of
a proposition; to which is connected, " is-glorious in-power,"
consisting likewise of two terms : these joined together make
four measures, or a tetrameter : " Thy-right-hand, O-
Jehovah," repeated, makes two more ; " hath-crushed the-
cnemy," two more ; which, together, make foiu' measures, or
a second tetrameter. So likewise,
" The-enemy said, I-will-pursue, I-will overtake ;
I-will-divide the-spoil ; my-lust shall-be-satisfied-upon-them ;
I-will-draw my-sword ; my-hand shall-dcstroy-them ;
Thou-didst-blow with-thy-wind ; the-sea covered-thcm."
" The Song of Deuteronomy consists of propositions of
three parts, or three measures ; which, doubled in the same
manner, make six, or hexameters : thus,
" Hearken, 0-heavens, and-I-will-speak ; and-let-the-earth
hear the-words-of-my-mouth :*
My-doctrine shall-drop, as-the-rain ; my-word shall-distil, as
the-dew."
* Two wcrJs joined togetlicr by maccaph are considered as a single word,
according to the laws of punctuation ; so '3*'"10K is one word.
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXXV
" Sometimes in the same period, much more in the same
song, these two kinds meet togeiher, according to the divine
impulse moving the prophet, and as the variety suited his
design, and the nature of the subject. For example, —
" And-by the-blast of-thv-nostrils, the-waters were-compress-
ed ;"
These are each two measures, which together make a tetra-
meter : it follows, —
" The-floods stood-upright, as-in-a-heap :
The-deeps were-congealed in-the-heart-of-the-sea :" *
These are two trimeters, which make an hexameter. So the
Song of the Well begins Avith trimeters ; to which are after-
wards subjoined t dimeters. So in the prayer of Habakkuk
the verses are trimeters : —
" God came from-Teman ;
And-the-Holy-One from the-mount-of-Paran.| Selah.
His-glory covered the-heavens ;
And-his-splendour filled the-earth."
'* The author proceeds to observe, that in some verses certain
words occur, which make no part of the measures, or are
not taken into the account- of the verse; as in the Song of
Deuteronomy : —
" And-he-said,
I-will-hide my-face from-them :"
The word, " And-he-said," II stands by itself, — and the re-
maining words make a trimeter : —
* □'"3 73, one word.
t The Song of the Wei!, Numh. xxi. 17, IS., according to onr way of fixing
the conclusion of it, and if we measure it by Azarias's rules, consist of three
trimeters and one dimeter only. But the Targum of Onkelos continues the
song to the end of the '20th verse, talcing in the catalogue of stations, (as we
understand it), which immediately follows, as part of the song ; and interpret-
ing it as such. Azarias follows his authority: so Aben Tybbon, (see Cozri,
p. 431.), and larchi upon the place. At this rate we shall have half a dozen
dimeters more.
t ■j"1Xi3"inD, (from-the-mount-of-Paran,) being joined by maccapA, and so
making but one word, the author is obliged to take in Selah as part of the
verse, to make out his third term or measure. The authority of the Masoretic
maccaph has led him into an error. The verse without Selah is a trimeter ; as
it ought to be in conformity with the rest.
il So far the observation seems to he just; and perhaps there maybe two
more examples of it in the same poem, ver. 2G. and 37. ; wliere, according to
XXXvi PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
" I-will-see, what-is their-latter-end,"
is the trimeter answering to it. So in the prayer of Habak-
kiik :—
" 0-Jehovah,
I-havc-hcard thy-speech ; I-was-afraid ;
0-Jehovah,
Revive thy-work in-the-midst-of-the years :" *
The word, " 0-Jehovah," is twice to be read separate ; and
the words added to it make a trimeter. But this verse,
" Though the-fig-tree shall-not blossom,"
is of a different sort, consisting of the subject and predicate :
"Though the fig-tree," being the subject; "shall not blos-
som," the predicate. So in a verse containing twelve terms,
those terms may be reduced to six measures. For you are
not to i)e reckon, either the syUables, or the words, but only
the things. And for this reason a particle is often joined to
the word next to it. The verses of the Psalms observe the
same order: —
" Have-mercy-upon-me, 0-God, according-to-thy-goodness ;
According-to-the-multitude-of-thy-mercies, 'j" blot-out my-
transgressions."
Azari;xs's cioctrino, the words, / said, And he shall say, may conveniently
cnouifh be considered as nialving no part of tlie verse. So in Is.iiab, the com-
mon forms, Thus saith. Jehovah , And it shall covic to pass in thai day, and the
like, probably are not always to be reckoned as making part of lire uicasure.
The period D in the 4th Lamentation cannot well be divided into two lines, as
it ought to be ; but if the words 107 li^lp, they cried unto them, and HON
Wyyi, they said among the heathen, arc excluded from the measure, the re-
mainder will make two lines of just length : —
" Depart, ye are polluted, depart; depart ye, forbear to touch :
Yea, they are fled, they are removed ; they shall dwell here no more."
Or pcrharis tliey may be two marginal interpretations, which by mistake have
got into the text; which, I think, is better without thein. So likewise, Lain.
ii. 15. the word T^OX'U^, of-ichich-thcy-said, either does not reckon in the
verse, which with it i:^ too long ; or, as 1 rather think, should be omitted, as
an interpolation.
* In order to make out tlic trimeter, it is necessary to suppose that Azarias
rcadsDUiy'DIp^ as one word.
t Azarias takes the liberty of joining the two words yrDm 3*^3 together
by a macrnph, wliich is not to be found in our editions, in order to bring the
verse within his rules. Tiic reader will observe, that this di.-;ti(h, which in the
Hebrew contains but seven words, cannot be rendered in English in less tbaa
PnELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXXVll
These aie trimeters. So likewise,
*' In-God I-will-praise his-word ;
In-Jehovah I-will-praise his-word."
So likewise the Proverbs of Solomonj
" Wisdom crieth without ;
In-the-streets she-uttereth her-voice."
" I am aware, adds he, that some verses are to be found,
which I cannot accommodate to these rules and forms ; and
perhaps a great number. Cut by observing these things,
the intelligent may perhaps receive new light, and discover
what has escaped me. Hou'ever, they may be assured, that
all the verses that are found in the Sacred Writings; such
as the song at the Red Sea, of the Well, of Mosses, of
Deborah, of David, of the Book of Job, the Psalms, and the
Proverbs ; ail of them have an established order and measure,
diflerent in difterent places, or even sometimes different in
one and the same poem ; — as we may perceive, in reading
them, an admirable propriety and fitness, though we can-
not arrive at the true method of measuring or scanning
them.
•' It is not to be wondered, that the same song should
consist of different measures ; for the case is the same in the
poetry of the Greeks and Romans : they suited their mea-
sures to the nature of the subject and the argument; and
the variations which they admitted, were accommodated to
the motions of the body, and the affections of the soul.
Every kind of measure is not proper for every subject ; and
an ode, a panegyric, or a prayer, should not be composed
in the same measure with an elegy. Do not you observe,
says he, in the Book of Lamentations of Jeremiah, that the
periods of the first and second chapters each of them consist
of three propositions ; and every one of these of a subject,
and a predicate, and of the adjuncts belonging to them?
The third chapter follows the same method; and for this
reason is placed next to them in order : but of this chapter
every period is distributed into three initial letters. But
the fourth chapter does not perfect the senses in every
one-aiid-twenty words. By this he will judge, under what great disadvantage
all the foregoing examples, whether of the parallelism or of the melrc of things,
must appear in an English version, in which many words are almost always
necessary to render what is expressed by one word in Hebrew.
4
XXXVlll PRELIMINARY DISSERTATIOJT.
verse ; * but consists of two and two, which make four. Bufi
the fifth chapter, which contains a prayer, you will find t&
be built on another plan ; that is, one and one, which make
tvvo,t or a dimeter ; like the vei'ses of the Books of Job,
Psalms, and Proverbs. So the Song of Moses, and the
Song of Deborah, have a dilTerent form ; consisting of thi-ee
and three, which make six ; that is, hexameters ; like tiic
heroic measure, which is the noblest of all measures.
" Upon the whole, the autlior concludes, that the poetical
parts of the Hebrew Scriptures are not composed according
to the rules and measures of certain feet, di,?syllables, tri-
syll;d)les, or the like, as the poems of the modern Jews are ;.
but nevertheless have undoubtedly other measures which de-
pend on things,; as above explained. For which reason, tliej
are more excellent than those which consist of certain feet^
according to the number and quantity of sylkibles. Of this,,
says he, you may judge yourself in the Songs of the Prophets.
For do you not see, if yon translate some of them into another
language, tlmt they still keep and retain their measure, if
not wholly, at least in part ? which cannot be the case in those
verses, tlie measures of which arise from a certain quantity
and number of syllables."
* He said above, that in the 1st and 2d chapters cadi separate verse, or line,,
was a single proposition : he now says, that this is not the case in the 4th chap-
ter ; for it does not perfect the sense in every verse ; that is, each verse docs.
not consist of one single proposition. As, for example the line or verse, —
" How is obscured the gold I changed the fine gold ! "
"^How is obscured ] the gold!" makes one proposition^ and two measures y
" changetl | the fine gold!" another proposition, and two other measures ^
which, according to him make a tetrameter. This, he says, makes the difle-
rencc. lietween the three lirst and the 4th chapter. But there seems to be no
»uch dillerence ; many single lines in the three first containing two propositions,,
and many in the 4th containing only one.
t According to the author's own definition of his terms, one and one which
make Uoo, should mean, one term and one term making two measures, or a
dtrnfiter: but the 5th chapter docs not at all seem to answer that des<;ription.
Besides, he says, the verses of it arc like those of Job, Psalms, and Proverbs,
of two of which books he said before, that the venses were trimeters. I know
not what he means, unless it be that one and one sentences make two, that is a
distich; and that this chajHer consists of distichs, of two short lines, as the
Books of .Job, Pfealms, and Proverbs, for the most part do; which is true.
i Perhaps the harmony might depeml in some degree on both ; for it may be
often observed, that where the words of an hemistich happen to be longer, and
consequently to consist of more syllables than the words of the adjoining hemi.'!-
tich, there the things expressed are fewer. See, for exami)le, P.sil. cviii. 4, 5.
Which seems to prove, tliat the measures of the verses did not depend on the
things expressed only, l)Ut on the syllables also.
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXXIX
Such is R. Azarias's hypothesis of the ihyUiimis of things ;
"^hat is, of terms and of senses; of the grammatical parts of
speech, and of the logical parts of propositions. The prin-
ciple seeins to be right ; but, I think, he has not made the
Tjest use, of which it was capable, in the application. He
acknowledges, that it will not hold in all cases. I behevc,
there is no such thing to be found in the Hebrew Bible, as
a whole poem consisting of trimeters, tetrameters, or hexa-
meters only, measured and scanned according to his rules.
The Song of Moses, Deut. xxxii. is a very apt example for
his purpose ; but will not in all parts fall in with his measures.
Besides, there is no sort of reason for his making it to con-
sist of hexameters, raiher than trimeter disticlis ; such, as
he says, the Psalms and Proverbs consist of. Examine the
cxith and cxiith Psalms by his rules ; and though they will
fall into h:;^ trimeters for the most part prelt}' well, }et we
are sure, that these were not to be coupled together to make
hexameters ; for they arc necessarily divided into twenty-two
distinct siiort lines by the initial ictteis. The HeU'ew poe-
try, consisting for the most part of short sentences, must
in general naturally fall into such measures as Azarias eslab-
lislies ; or with some management may be easily reduced
to his rules. Every proposition must consist of a subject
and a predicate, joined together by a copula; and the pre-
dicate including the copula will generally consist of twa
terms, expressing the action, and the thing acted tipon. la
Hebrew, sometimes the subject is combined with the copula
in one word, and sometimes the predicate ; sometimes all
three make but one term. In these cases, the addition of a
simple adjunct (for the shortness of the style will not admit
of much more) to the subject, or the predicate, or both,
furnishes a second, a third, and sometimes a fourth term ;
that is, makes the verse a dimeter, trimeter, or tetrameter.
For instance, in dimeters, —
" They-mad'e-him-jealous, with-strange-Gods ;
They-provoked-him, with-abominations." Deut. xxxii. 16.
In trimeters, —
*' I-will-bless Jehovah, at-all-time ;
His-praise [shall be] in my mouth, continuallj.
My-soul shall-make-her-boast, in-Jehovah ;
"The raeeJi shall-hear-itj and-rejoice.
rRELI.MIXARY DISSERTATION.
O-msgnify-ye Jehovah, with-me ;
And-let-us-piaise his-name, together." Psal. xxxiv. 1 — 3.
In these cxaiTiplct:, the first part of every line makes an en-
lire proposition, and the last is an adjunct nuiking the se-
cond, or the third, term. In the following-, the subject, and
the predicate, with their adjuncts, consist oif two terms, each
of them : that is, of two measures ; and, being joined toge-
tiier, make a tetrameter : —
" Thc-counsel of-Jehovah shall-stand Ibr-ever."
The next line is in the same form, except that the verb is
undorstnod, and the latter adjunct divided into two terms ;
and makes a second tctranicter to pair with the first: —
" The- thoughts of-his-heart, from-ag-e to-age."
Something of this kind must necessarily be the result of (his
senlenlious way of writing: it is what comes of course, with-
out nuich study. But whatever attention the Hebrew poets
might give to tiie scanning of their verses by tlic number of
terms, it does not appear to have been their design to con-
fine all the verses of the same poem to any set number of
terms ; whereas they do plainly appear to have studied to
throw the corresponding lines of the sanjc distich into the
same nm^iber of terms, into the same form of construction,
and still more into an identity, or opposition, or a general
conformity of sense. I agree therefore with Azarias in his
general principle of a rhythmus of things : but instead of
considering terms, or phrases, or senses, in single lines, as
measures ; determining the nature and denomination of
the verse, as dimeter, trimeter, or tetrameter ; I consider
only that relation and proportion of one verse to another,
uhich arises from the correspondence of terms, and from the
ibrm of construction ; from whence results a rhythmus of
propositions, and a harmony of sentences.
This peculiar conformation of sentences ; short, concise,
Avith frecjuent pauses, and regular intervals, divided into
pairs, for the most part, of corresponding lines ; is the most
evident characteristic now remaining of poetry among the
Hebrews, as distinguished from prose: and this, I suppose,
is what is implied in the name, Mizmor ;* which I under-
* "iVDIJO. "^"D" signifirs to cut, to prvnr, fo sing, to play on a musical in-
strument. Ccciura is the co:nnion iilca, which jtroaila in all.
PRELIMINARY DISSERT ATIOJf. Xl
stand to be the proper name for verse ; that is, for numeioiis,
shythmical, or nietiical language. This form made their
verse pecuharly fit for music and dance; which with tliem
were the usual concomitants of poetry, on occasions of |)ublic
joy, and in the most solemn offices of religion.* Both their
dance and song were on such occasions performed by two
choirs t taking their parts alternately in «a&h : .the regular
form of the stanzas, chie% distichalj and the -parallelism of
the lines, were excellently well suited to this purpose, and
fell in naturally with the movements of the body, of the
voice, and of the instruments, and with the .division of the
parts between the two sets of performers.
But, besides the poetical structure of the sentences, there
are other indications of verse in the poetical and prophetical
parts of the Hebiew Scriptures : such are, peculiarities of
language ; unusual and foreign words ; phrases, and foims
of words, uncommon in prose.; bold elliptical expression.;
frequent and abrupt change of persons, and an use of the
tenses out of the common order ; and lastly, the poetical
dialect, consisting chieily in certain anomalies .peculiarit©
poetry ; in letters and syllables added to the ends of words ;
a kind of license commonly permitted to poetry in every
language. But as these cannot be explained by a few ex-
amples, nor perfectly understood without some knowledge
of Hebrew ; I must beg leave to refer the learned reader,
who would inquire further into this subject, to what I have
said upon it in another place ;t or rather, to recommend it
to his own observation, in reading the sacred poets in their
own language.
Thus far of the genuine form and cTiaracter of llie Pro-
phet's composition ; which it has been the translator's endea-
vour closely to follow, and as exactly to express, as the dif-
ference of the languages would permit : in which indeed he
has had great advantage in the habit, which our language
has acquired, of expressing wit^h ease, and not v/ithout ele-
gance, Hebrev/ ideas and Hebrew forms of speaking, from
* See Exod. xv. 20. 21. 2 Sam. vi. 14. 16.
t See 1 Sam. xviii. 6, 7. Ezra iii. 11 . Nehcm. xii. 24. and Philo's Obser-
•vations (Uigi TfupyiA!) on the Song at the Red Sea.
1 De Sacra Poesi Hcbraorum, Prtelect. iii. xiv. xv.
4*
^iii PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
our constant u?c of a cloi^c verbal translation of both the Old
and New Testament ; which has by degrees moulded our
language into such a conformity with tliat of (he original
Scripture=, that it can upon occasion assume the Hebrew
character without appearing altogether forced and unnatural.
It remains to say something of the Translation in regard to
its fidelity ; and of the princii)le3 of interpretation by which
the translator has been guided in the prosecution of it.
TiTE lirsl and principal business of a translator, is to give
the plain literal and grammatical sense of bis author ; the
obvious meaning of his words, phrases, and sentences ; and
to express them in the language into which he translates, as
far as may be, in equivalent words, phrases, and sentences.
Whatever indulgence may be allowed him in other respects ;
however excusable he may l)e, if he fail of attaining the ele-
gance, the spirit, the sublimity of his author, — which will
generally be in some degree the case, if his author excels at
all in those qualities ; w^ant of fidelity admits of no excuse,
and is entitled to no indulgence. This is peculiarly so in
subjects of high importance, such as the Holy Scriptures, in
which so much depends on the phrase and expression ; and
particularly in the prophetical books of Scripture ; where
from the letter are often deduced deep and recondite senses,
which must owe all their weight and solidity to the just and
accurate interpretation of the words of the prophecy. For
whatever senses are supposed to be included in the Prophet's
words, spiritual, mystical, allegorical, analogical, or the like,
they must all entirely depend on the literal sense. This
is the only foundation upon which such interpretations can
be securely raised ; and if this is not firmly and well estab-
lished, all that is built upon it will fall to the ground.
For example ; if iddo n^hd, Isa. li. xx. does not signify
as o-ivrxm 'tuitiiipSov, like parboiled bete, as the LXX render it;
but like an oryx (a large, fierce, wild beast) in the toils ;
what becomes of Theodoret's explication of this image?
hx ^e m >^yju.is TO umvS'po¥. According to this interpretation,
the Prophet would express the drowsiness and flaccidity, the
slothfulness and want of spirit, of his countrymen : where-
as his idea was impotent rage, and obstinate violence, sub-
dued by a superior power ; the Jews taken in the snares of
their own wickedness, struggling in vain, till, overspent and
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. xliii
exhausted, they sink under the weight of God's judgments.
And Procopius's explication of the same passage, according
to the rendering of the words by Aquiia, Symmachus, and
Theodotion,. which is probably the true one, is ahuost as
foreign to the purpose : " He compares, saith he, the people
of Jerusalem to the oryx, tliat is, to a bird ; because they
are taken in the snares of the devil, and therefore are de-
livered over to wrath." Such strange and absurd deduc-
tions of notions and ideas, foreign to the author's drift and
design, will often arise from the invention of commentators
who have nothing but an inaccurate translation to work
upon. This was the case of tlie generality of the Fathers of
the Christian Church, who wrote comments on the Old
Testament : and it is no wonder, that we find them of little
service in leading us into the true meaning and the deep
sense of the prophetical writings.
It being then a translator's indispensable duty faithfully
and religiously to express the sense of his author, he ought
to take great care that he proceed upon just principles of
criticism, in a rational method of interpretation ; and that
the copy from which he translates be accurate and perfect in
itself, or corrected as carefully as possible by the best autho-
rities, and on the clearest result of critical inquiry.
The method of studying the Scriptures of the Old Testa-
ment has been very defective hitherto in both these respects.
Beside the difficulties attending it, arising from the nature
of the thing itself, from the language in which it is written,
and the condition in which it is come down to us through
so many ages ; what we have of it being the scanty relics of
a language formerly copious, and consequently the true
meaning of many words and phrases being obscure and du-
bious, and perhaps incapable of being clearly ascertained ;
beside these impediments, necessarily inherent in the subject,
others have been thrown in the way of our progress in the
study of these writings, from prejudice, and an ill-founded
opinion of the authority of the Jews, both as interpreters
and conservators of them.
The Masoretic punctuation, by which the pronunciation of
the language is given, the forms of the several parts of speech,
the construction of the words, the distribution and limits of
the sentences, and the connexion of the several members
are fixed, is in efiect an interpretation of the Hebrew text
Xliv PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
made by the Jews of late ages, probably not earlier than
the eiglith century ; and may be considered as their trans-
lation of the Old Testament. Where the words unpointed
are capable of various meanings, according as they may be
variously pronounced and constructed, the Jews by their
pointing have determined them to one meaning and con-
struction ; and the sense which they thus give, is their sense
of the passage : just as the rendering of a translator into
another language is his sense ; that is, the sense in which,
in his opinion, the original words are to be taken ; and it
has no other authority, than what arises from its being
agreeable to the rules of just interpretation. But because
in the languages of Europe the vowels are essential parts
of written words, a notion was too hastily taken np by the
learned at the revival of letters, when the original Scriptures
began to be more carefully examined, that the vowel points
were necessary appendages of the Hebrew letters, and there-
fore coeval with them ; at least, that they became absolutely
necessary when the Hebrew was become a dead language,
and must have been added by Ezra, who collected and
formed the canon of the Old Testament, in regard to all
the books of it in his time extant. On this supposition, the
points have been considered as part of the Hebrew text,
and as giving the meaning of it on no less than divine
authority. Accordingly our public translations in the mo-
dern tongues for the use of the church among Protestants,
and so likewise the modern Latin translations, are for the
most part close copies of the Hebrew pointed text, and
are in reality only versions at second hand, translations of
the Jews' interpretation of the Old Testament. We do not
deny the usefulness of this interpretation, nor would we be
thought to detract from its merit by setting it in this light :
it is perhaps, upon the whole, preferable to any one of the
ancient versions ; it has probably the great advantage of
having been formed upon a traditionary explanation of the
text, and of being generally agreeable to that sense of Scrip-
lure which passed current, and was commonly received by
the Jewish nation in ancient times ; and it has certainly
been of great service to the moderns, in leading them into
tie knowledge of the Hebrew tongue. But they would have
made a much better use of it, and a greater progress in the
explication of tlic Scriptures of the Old Testament, had they
consulted it, without absolutely submitting to its authority ;
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. xlV
had they considered it as an assistant, not as an infallible
guide.
To what a length an opinion lightly taken up, and em-
braced witb a full assent, without due examination, may be
carried, we may see in another example of much the same
kind. The learned of the Church of Rome, who have
taken the liberty of giving translations of Scripture in the
modern languages, have for the most part subjected and
devoted themselves to a prejudice equally groundless and ab-
surd. The Council of Trent declared the Latin translation
of the Scriptures called the Vulgate, which had been for
many ages in use in their church, to be authentic.- — a very
ambiguous term, which ought to have been more precisely
defined than the Fathers of this Council chose to define it.
Upon this ground many contended, that the Vulgate ver-
sion was dictated by the Holy Spirit ; at least was provi-
dentially guarded against ail error ; was consequently of
divine authority, and more to be regarded than even the
original Hebrew and Greek texts. And in effect the decree
of the Council, hov.-ever limited and moderated by the ex-
planation of some of their judicious divines, has given to the
Vulgate such a high degree of authority, that, in this in-
stance at least, the translation has taken place of the original :
for these translators, instead of the Hebrew and Greek texts,
profess to translate the Vulgate. Indeed, when they find the
Vulgate very notoriously deficient in ex^jjressing the sense,
they do the original Scriptures the honour of consulting
them, and take the liberty, by following them, of departing
from their authentic guide ; l)ut in general the Vulgate is
their original text, and they give us a translation of a trans-
lation ; by which second transfusion of the Holy Scriptures
into another tongue, still more of the original sense must
be lost, and more of the genuine spirit must evaporate.
The other prejudice, which has stood in the way, and
obstructed our progress in the true understanding of the
Old Testament, — a prejudice even more unreasonable than
the former, is the notion that has prevailed of the great care
and skill of the Jews in preserving the text, and transmitting
it dovv'n to the present times pure, and entirely free from all
mistakes, as it came from the hands of the authors. In
opposition to which opinion it has been often observed, that
Buch a perfect degree of integrity no human skill or care
Xhi PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
could warrant ; it must imply no less than a constant mira-
culous superintendence of divine Providence, to guide the
hand of the copyist, and to guard him from error, in re-
spect to every transcript that has been made through so
long a succession of ages. And it is universally acknow-
ledged, that Almighty God has not thought such a miracu-
lous interposition necessary in regard to the Scripliu'cs of
the New Testament, at least of equal authority and impor-
tance with those of the Old : Wc plainly see, that he has not
exempted them from the common lot of other books ; the
copies of these, as well as of other ancient writings, dififer-
ing in some degree from one another, so that no one of them
has any just pretension to be a perfect and entire copy,
truly and precisely representing in every word and letter
the originals, as they came from the hands of tlie several
autliors. All writings transmitted to us, like these, from
early times, the original copies of which have long ago
perished, have suffered in their passage to us by the mistakes
of many transcribers through whose hands wc have received
ihem ; errors continually accumulating in proportion to the
number of transcripts, and the stream generally l)Ccoming
more impure, the more distant it is from the source. Now,
the Hebrew writings of the Old Testament being for much
the greater part the most ancient of any ; instead of linding
them absolutely perfect, w^e may reasonably expect to find,
that they have suffered in this respect more than others of
less antiquity generally have done.
But beside this common source of errors, there is a cir-
cumstance very unfavourable in this respect to these writings
in particular, which makes them peculiarly liable to mis-
takes in transcribing ; that is, the great similitude which
some letters bear to others in the Hebrew alphabet : such
as 3 to D, T to n, n to n, J to 3 ; i, ?, and "], to one another ;
more perhaps than are to be found in any other alphabet
whatsoever ; and in so great a degree of likeness, that they
are hardly distinguishable even in some printed copies ; and
not only these letters, but others likewise beside these, aro
not easily distinguished from one another in many manu-
scripts. This must have been a perpetual cause of frctiuent
mistakes ; of winch, in regard to the two first pairs of letters
above noted, there arc many undeniable examples ; inso-
much that a change of ono of the similar letters for the
other, when it remarkably clears up the sense, may be fairly
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. xlvii
allowed to criticism, even without any other authority than
that of the context to support it.
But to these natural sources of error, as we may call them,
the Jewish copyists have added others, by some absurd prac-
tices which they have adopted in transcribing ; — such as
their consulting more the fair appearance of their copy than
the correctness of it ; by wilfully leaving mistakes uncor-
rected, lest by erasing they should diminish the beauty and
the value of the transcript ; (for instance, when they had
written a word, or part of a word, wrongl}^, and immediate-
ly saw their mistake, they left the mistake uncorrected, and
wrote the W'Ord anew after it) : their scrupulous regard to
the evenness and fulness of their lines ; which induced them
to cut off from the ends of lines a letter or letters, for which
there was not sufficient room, (for they never divided a
word so that the parts of it should belong to two lines) ;
and to add to the ends of lines letters wholly insignificant,
by w"ay of expletives, to fill up a vacant space : their custom
of writing part of a word at the end of a line, where there
was not room for the whole, and then giving the whole word
at the beginning of the next line. These and some other
like practices manifestly tended to multiply mistakes : they
were so many traps and snares laid in the way of future
transcribers, and must have given occasion to frequent
errors.
These circumstances considered, it would be the most
astonishing of all miracles, if, notwithstanding the acknow-
ledged fallibility of transcribers, and their proneness to
error, from the nature of the subject itself on which they
were employed, the Hebrew writings of the Old Testament
had come down to us through their hands absolutely pure,
and free from all mistakes wdiatsoever.
If it be asked, what then is the real condition of .the
present Hebrew text ; and of what sort, and in wdiat num-
ber, are the mistakes which we must acknowledge to be
found in it '.' it is answered. That the condition of the He-
brew text is such as, from the nature of the thing, the an-
tiquity of the writings themselves, the want of due care, or
critical skill, (in which latter at least the Jev>^s have been
exceedingly deficient,) might in all reason have been ex-
pected ; that the mistakes are frequent, and of various
kinds ; of letters, words, and sentences ; by variation, omis-
xlviii PRELIMIN^ARY DISSERTATION.
sion, transposition ; such as often injure the beauty and
elegance, embarrass the construction, alter or obscure the
sense, and sometimes render it quite uninieUigible. If it
be objected, that a concession so large as this is, tends to
invalidate the authority of Scripture ; that it gives up in
effect the certainty and authenticity of the doctrines con-
tained in it, and exposes our religion naked and defenceless
to the assaults of its enemies ; this, 1 think, is a vain and
groundless apprehension. Casual errors may blemish parts,
but do not destroy, or much alter, the whole. If the Ihad
or the i^^neid had come down to us with more errors in all
the copies than are to he found in the worst manuscript
now extant of either, without doubt many particular pas-
sages would have lost much of their beauty ; in many the
sense would have been greatly injured ; in some rendered
wholly unintelligible ; but the plan of the poem in the whole
and in its parts, the fable, the mythology, the machinery,
the characters, the great constituent parts, would still have
been visible and apparent, without having suffered any
essential diminution of their greatness. Of all the precious
remains of antiquity, perhaps Aristotle's treatise on Poetry
is come down to us as much injured by time as any : as it
has been greatly mutilated in the whole, some considerable
members of it being lost ; so the parts remaining have
sulfercd in proportion, and n)any passages are rendered very
obscure, probably by the imperfection and frequent mistakes
of the copies now extant. Yet, notwithstanding these dis-
advantages, this treatise, so much injured by time and so
mutilated, still continues to be the great code of criticism;
the fundamental principles of which are plainly deducible
from it : we still have recourse to it for the rides and laws
of epic and dramatic poetry, and the imperfection of the
copy does not at all impeach the authority of the legislator.
Important and fundamental doctrines do not wholly depend
on single passages; an universal harmony runs through the
Holy Scriptures ; the parts mutually support each other,
and su[)ply one another's deficiencies and obscurities. Super-
ficial damages and partial defects may greatly diminish the
beauty of the edifice, without injuring its strength, and bring-
ing on utter ruin and destruction.*
♦ " Librariorum discordiam ostcndunt varia oxcmplarin, in quibus idem
lofus aliter .^lque alitcr Icgitur. Si-d ea discordia od'cndiTC iios non debet ;
priiiium, quia aulorutu non est, scd librariorum, quorum culpam prrostarc
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. xfix
f' The copies of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament
being then subject, like all other ancient writings, to mistakes
arising from the unskilfulness or inattention of transcribers, — a
plain matter of fact, which cannot be denied, and needs not
be palliated ; it is to be considered, what remedy can be
applied in this case; how such mistakes can be corrected
upon certain or highly probable grounds? Now the case
being the same, the method which has been used with good
effect in correcting the ancient Greek and Latin authors,
ought in all reason to be applied to the Hebrew writings.
At the revival of literature, critics and editors finding the
Greek and Latin authors full of mistakes, set about cor-
recting them, by procuring different copies, and the best
that they could meet with : these they compared together,
and the mistakes not being the same in all, one copy
corrected another; and thus they easily got rid of such
errors as had not obtained possession in all the copies :
and generally the more copies they had to compare, the
more eiTors were corrected, and the more perfect the text
was rendered. This, which common sense dictated in
the first place as necessary to be done in order to the
removing of difficulties in reading ancient Greek and Latin
autores nee possunt nee debent. Deinde, quia plerumque ejusmodi discordia
unius aut alterius verbi est, in quo nihil laeditur sententia ; aut si quid forte
Iffiditur, aliunde corrigi potest; quandoquidem autorum sentcntiae non
semper ei singulis verbis superstitiosius observandis, sed plerumque ex
orationis tenore, aut similium locorum observatione, aut mentis ratiocinatione
sunt investigandae. Ae tales librariorum discordiae etiam in profanis autoribus
inveniuntur ; ut in Platone, in Aristotele, in Homero, in Cicerone, in Virgilio, et
caeteris. GLuamvis enim summo in pretio semper fuerint apud gentiles hi autores,
summaque cum diligentia describi soliti, tamen caveri non potuit, quin multa
scripturae menda et discrepantiae annorum longitudine obrepserint ; nee tamen
ea res studiosos deterret ; nee facit, ut qui libri Ciceronis habentur, ii aut non
boni aut non Ciceronis esse ducantur ; sicut enim detorti aut etiam decussi
Tamuli agrieolam non offendunt, nee arborem vitiant, quippe quae ramorum
infinita multitudine sic abundet, ut tantulam jacturam alibi sme uUo detrimento
resarciat ; ita si in autore pauculis in locis simile quidpiam usu venit, id nee
bonum leetorem offendit, nee autorem vitiat, Manet enim ipsa stirps, et, ut ita
loquar, corpus autoris, ex cujus perpetuo tenore dictorumque ubertate percipi
possunt sine ullo detrimento fructus pleni.
Ad serupulum eorum, qui metuunt, ne, si hoc concessum fuerit, labescat
sacrarum literarum autoritas, hoc respondeo ; non esse scriptoTum autoritatem
in paucis quibusdam verbis, quae vitiari detrahive potuerunt, sed in perpetuo
orationis tenore, qui mansit incorruptus, positam. Itaque quemadmodum
Cicero apud sui studiosos nihilo minoris est autoritatis propter paucula quaedam
mutilata aut depravata, quam esset, si id non accidisset ; ita debet et sacrarum
literarum autoritati nihil detrahi, si quid in eis tale, quale ostendimus, contigit.''
Sebast. Castellio, quoted by Wetstein, Nov. Test. torn. ii. p. 856,
5
J PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
authors, we have had recourse to in the last place in regard
to the ancient Hebrew writers. Hebrew manuscripts have
at length been consulted and collated, notwithstanding the
unaccountable opinion which prevailed, that they all exactly
agreed with one another, and formed precisely one uniform
text. An infinite number of variations have been collected,
from above six hundred manuscripts, and some ancient
printed editions, collated or consulted, in most parts of
Europe ; and have been in part published, and the pubhcation
of the whole will I hope soon be completed, by the learned
Dr. Kennicott, in his edition of the Hebrew Bible with
various readings ; a work, the greatest and most important
that has been undertaken and accomplished since the revival
of letters.
But the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, compared
with the text of ancient Greek and Latin authors, has in
one respect greatly the disadvantage. There are manu-
scripts of the latter, which are much nearer in time to the
age of the authors ; and have suffered much less in propor-
tion to the shorter space of time intervening. For example,
the Medicean manuscript of Virgil was written probably
within four or five hundred years after the time of the
poet ; whereas the oldest of the Hebrew manuscripts now
known to be extant, do not come within many centuries of
the times of the several authors ; not nearer than about
fourteen centuries to the age of Ezra, one of the latest of
them, who is supposed to have revised the books of the
Old Testament than extant, and to have reduced them to a
perfect and correct standard : so that we can hardly expect
much more from this vast collection of variations, taken in
themselves as correctors of the text, exclusively of other
consequences, than to be able by their means to discharge
and eliminate the errors that have been gathering and
accumulating in the copies for about a thousand years past ;
and to give us now as good and correct a text as was com-
monly current among the Jews, or might easily have been
obtained, so long ago. Indeed, some of the oldest manu-
scripts, from which these variations have been collected, may
possibly be faithful transcripts of select manuscripts at that
time very ancient, and so may really carry us nearer to
the age of Ezra ; but this is an advantage which we caimot
be assured of, and upon which we must not presume. But
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. ll
to get SO far nearer to the source, as we plainly do by the
assistance of manuscripts, though of comparatively late date,
is an advantage by no means inconsiderable, or lightly to be
regarded.
On the other hand, we have a great advantage in regard
to the Hebrew text, which the Greek and Latin authors
generally want, and which in some degree makes up for the
defect of age in the present Hebrew manuscripts; that is,
from the several ancient versions of the Old Testament in
different languages, made in much earlier times, and from
manuscripts in all probabihty much more correct and per-
fect than any now extant. These versions, for the most
part, being evidently intended for exact literal renderings
of the Hebrew text, may be considered in some respects as
representatives of the manuscripts from which they were
taken : and when the version gives a sense better in itself,
and more agreeable to the context, than the Hebrew text
offers, and at the same time answerable to a word or words
similar to those of the Hebrew text, and only differing from
it by the change of one or more similar letters, or by the
different position of the same letters, or by some other in-
considerable variation ; we have good reason to believe,
that the similar Hebrew words answering to the version,
were indeed the very reading that stood in the manuscript
from which the translation was made. To add strength to
this way of reasoning, it is to be observed, that the manu-
scripts now extant frequently confirm such supposed read-
ing of those manuscripts from which the ancient versions
were taken, in opposition to the authority of the present
printed Hebrew text ; and make the collection of variations,
now preparing for the public, of the highest importance ;
as they give a new evidence of the fidelity of the ancient
versions, and set them upon a footing of authority which
they never could obtain before. They were looked upon
as the work of wild and licentious interpreters, who often
departed from the text, which they undertook to render,
without any good reason, and only followed their own fancy
and caprice. The present Hebrew manuscripts so often
justify the versions in such passages, that we cannot but
conclude, that in many others likewise the difference of the
version from the present original is not to be imputed to
the licentiousness of the translator, but to the carelessness
Ei PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
of the Hebrew copyist ; and this aflbids a just and reasonable
ground for correcting the Hebrew text on the authority of
the ancient versions.
But the assistance of manuscripts' and ancient versions
united will be found very insufficient perfectly to correct
the Hebrew text. Passages will sometimes occur, in which
neither the one nor the other give any satisfactory sense ;
which has been occasioned probably by very ancient mistakes
of the copy, antecedent to the date of the oldest of them.
On these occasions, translators are put to great difficulties,
through which they force their way as well as they can :
they invent new meanings for words and phrases, and
put us oft' either with what makes no sense at all, or with a
sense that apparently does not arise out of the words of the
text. The renderings of such desperate places, when they
carry any sense with them, are manifestly conjectural ; and
full as much so, as the conjectures of the critic v.'ho hazards
an alteration of the text itself. The fairest way of proceeding
in these cases seems to be, to confess the difficulty, and to
lay it before the reader ; and to leave it to his judgment
to decide, whether the conjectural rendering, or the conjec-
tural emendation, be more agreeable to the context, to the
exigence of the place, to parallel and similar passages, to
the rules and genius of the language, and to the laws of
sound and temperate criticism.
The condition of the present text of Isaiah in particular
is answerable to the representation above given of the He-
brew text in general. It is, I presume, considerably injured
and stands in need of frequent emendation. Nothing is
more apt to affect, and sometimes utterly to destroy, the
meaning of a sentence, than the omission of a word : than
which no sort of mistake is more frequent. I reckon, that
in the book of Isaiah, the words omitted in different places
amount to the number of fifty. I mean whole words, not
including particles, prepositions, and pronouns affixed ; and
I speak of such as I am well persuaded are real omissions ;
much the greater part of which, I flatter myself, the reader
will find supplied in the translation and notes, with a good
degree of probability, from manuscripts and ancient ver-
sions. Beside these, there are some other places, in which 1
suspect some omission, though there may be no evidence to.
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. liu
prove it. If there be any truth in this account of words
omitted, the reader will easily suppose, that mistakes of
other kinds must be frequent in proportion, and amount all
together to a considerable number.
The manuscripts and ancient versions afibrd the proper
means of jemedying these and other defects of the present
copy. It is manifest, that the ancient interpreters had be-
fore them copies of the Hebrew text different in many places
from that which passes current at present ; and the manu-
scripts even now extant frequently vary from that, and from
one another. Neither is there any one manuscript or edi-
tion whatever, that has the least pretension to a superior
authority, so as to claim to be a standard to which the lest
ought to be reduced. A true text, as far as it is possible to
recover it, is to be gathered from the manuscripts now ex-
tant, and from the evidence furnished by the ancient ver-
sions of the readings of manuscripts of much earlier times.
This being the case, the first care of the translator should
be, especially in places obscure and difficult, to consider
whether the words which be is to render be indeed the
genuine words of the Prophet, and to ascertain, as far as
may be, the true reading of the text.
The ancient versions above-mentioned as the principal
sources of emendation, and highly useful in rectifying, as
well as in explaining, the Hebrew text, are contained in
the London Polyglott.
The Greek version, commonly called the Septuagint, or
of the seventy interpreters, probably made by different hands,
(the number of them uncertain,) and at different times, as
the exigence of the Jewish church at Alexandria and in
other parts of Egypt required, is of the first authority, and
of the greatest use in correcting the Hebrew text ; as being
the most ancient of all ; and as the copy, from which it was
translated, appears to have been free from many errors,
which afterwards by degrees got into the text. But the
version of Isaiah is not so old as that of the Pentateuch by
a hundred years and more ; having been made in all pro-
bability after the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, when the
reading of the Prophets in the Jewish synagogues began to
be practised ; and even after the building of Onias's temple,
to favour which there seems to have been some artifice em-
5*
liv PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
ployed in a certain passage of Isaiah * in this version. And"
it unfortunately happens, that Isaiah has had the hard fate
to meet with a translator very unworthy of him, there being
hardly any book of the Old Testament so ill rendered in
that version as this of Isaiah. Add to this, that the version
of Isaiah, as well as other parts of the Greek version, is
come down to us in a bad condition, incorrect, and with
frequent omissions and interpolations. Yet, with all these
disadvantages, with all its faults and imperfections, this ver-
sion is of more use in correcting the Hebrew text than any
other whatsoever.
The Aral)ic version is sometimes referred to as verifying
the reading of the LXX, being, for the most part at least,
taken from that version.
The learned Mr. Woide, to whom we are indebted for
the publication of a Coptic lexicon and grammar, very use-
ful and necessary for the promotion of that part of litera-
ture, has very kindly communicated to me his extracts from
the fragments of a manuscript of a Coptic version of Isaiah,
made from the LXX, with which he has collated them.
They are preserved in the Library of St. Germain de Prez at
Paris. He judges this Coptic version to be of the second
centur3^ The manuscript was written in the beginning of
the fourteenth century. The same gentleman has had the
goodness, at my request, to collate with Bos's edition of the
LXX, through the book of Isaiah, two manuscripts of the
King's Library, now in the British Museum, the one marlt-
ed I. B. II. the other i. D. ii. The former manuscript, con-
taining the Prophets of the version of the LXX, was writ-
ten in the eleventh or twelfth century, according to Grabc ;
(in the tenth or eleventh century, in Mr. Woide's opinion) ;
and by a note on the back of the first leaf apj)ears to have
belonged to Pachomius, patriarch of Constantinople in the
beginning of the sixteenth century. Grabe highly valued
this manuscript ; and intended to write a dissertation on the
superiority of this and of the Alexandrian manuscript to that
of the Vatican ; but did not live to execute his design. Sec
Prolegora. ad tom. 3tium, LXX Interp. edit. Grabe, sect.
iii. and v., and Grabe de Vitiis LXX Interp. p. IIS. I
quote tiiis manuscript by the title of MS Pachom. for the
reason above given.
* CLap. lix. lb. Sec the note there.
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. Iv
The latter manuscript i. D. ii. above-mentioned, contains
many of the historical books, beginning with Ruth, and
ending with Ezra, according to the order of the books in
our Enghsh Bible ; and also the prophet Isaiah, of the ver-
sion of the LXX. This manuscript in the book of Isaiah
consists of two different parts : the first from the beginning
to the word rv<pxm, chap. xxxv. 5. written in a more ancient
and better character, and upon better vellum ; which Mr.
Woide judges to be of the eleventh or twelfth century : the
remaining part he refers to the beginning of the fourteenth
century ; which Grabe supposes to be the age of the whole :
See Grabe de Vitiis, LXX Interp. p. 104. This manu-
script seems to have been taken from a good copy, as it fre-
quently agrees with the best and most ancient manuscripts,
and in particular with the manuscript of Pachomius.
The Copiic fragments above-mentioned, and these manu-
scripts, are useful for the same purpose of authenticating the
reading of the LXX ; and, in consequence, of ascertaining or
correcting the Hebrew text in some places.
My examination of Mr. Woide's collation of the two
Greek manuscripts of Isaiah, has been confined to this single
view in respect of the Hebrew text. Were these manuscripts
to be applied more extensively, and to their proper use, tiiat
of correcting the te^it of the LXX, through all the parts of
it which they contain, I am persuaded they would be found
to be of very great importance, and would contribute largely
to the revision and emendation of that ancient and very
valuable version : a Y\'ork, which may be now considered as
one of the principal desiderata of sacred criticism ; and
which ought to follow that arduous undertaking, which has
so happily succeeded, the collation of Hebrew manuscripts ;
to which it stands next in order of importance and usefulness
towards our attaining a more perfect knowledge of the Holy
Scriptures.
The Chaldee paraphrase of Jonathan Ben Uziel, made
about or before the time of our Saviour, though it often
wanders from the text in a wordy allegorical explanation, yet
very frequently adheres to it closely, and gives a verbal
rendering of it ; and accordingly is sometimes of great use in
ascertaining the true reading of the Hebrew text.
The Syriac version stands next in order of time, but is
superior to the Chaldee in usefulness and authority, as well
in ascertaining as in explaining the Hebrew text. It is a
Ivi PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
close translation of the Hebrew into a language of near
affinity to it. It is supposed to have been made as early as
the first century.
The fragments of the three Greek versions of Aquila,
Symmachus, and Theodotion, all made in the second century,
which are collected in the Hexapla of Montfaucon, are of
considerable use for the same purpose.
The Vulgate, being for the most part the translation of
Jerome, made in the fourth century, is of service in the same
way, in proportion to its antiquity.
I am greatly obliged to several learned friends for their
observations on particular passages : To one great person more
especially, whom I had the honour to call my friend, the late
excellent Archbishop Seeker ; whose marginal notes on the
Bible, deposited by his order in the librar}^ at Lambeth, I had
permission to consult by the favour of his most worthy
successor. There are two Bibles with his notes : one a folio
English Bible interleaved, containing chiefly corrections of
the English translation ; the other a Hebrew Bible of the
edition of Michaclis, Halle, 1720, in 4to. ; the large margins
of which are tilled with critical remarks on the Hebrew text,
collations of the ancient versions, and other short annotations ;
which stand an illustrious monument of the learning, judgment
and indefatigable industr}' of that excellent person : I add also,
of his candour and modesty ; for there is hardly a proposed
emendation, however ingenious and probable, to which he has
not added the objections which occurred to him against it.
These valuable remains of tluit great and good man will be of
infinite service, whenever that necessary work, a new transla-
tion, or a revision of the present translation, of the Holy
Scriptures, for the use of our church, shall be undertaken.
To his observations I have set his name. And to the remarks
of others of my learned friends, I have likewise subjoined in
the notes their names respectively. Among these I must here
particularly mention the late learned Dr. Durcll, Principal of
Hertford College in Oxford ; who some years ago communi-
cated to me his manuscrijit remarks on the Prophets. With
his leave I took short memorandums of some of his corrections
of the text ; and had his permission to make what use I pleased
of them.
I am in a more particular manner obliged to my learned
friend Dr. Kemiicott, for his singular favour in frequently
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. IvU
communicating to me his collations while they were collecting,
and the piinted copy of the book of Isaiah itself, as soon as it
was finished at the press, for my private use, while the
remainder of the volume is in hand and preparing for the
public. These I have examined with some attention ; and I
hope the reader, whose expectations do not exceed the bounds
of reason and moderation, will be satisfied with the assistance
and benefit which he will find they have afforded me. But I
must beg to have it well understood, that I do by no means
pretend to have exhausted these valuable stores: many
things may have escaped me, which may strike the eye of
another observer ; many a variation, which appears at first
sight very minute and trifling, and manifestly false and absurd,
may by some side-light tend to useful discoveries. To apply
these materials to all the uses which can possibly be made of
them, will require much labour and consideration, much
judgment and sagacity, and repeated trials by a variety of
examiners, to whose different views they may shew themselves
in every possible light. Some critics may be very forward
and hasty in pronouncing their judgments ; but it must
be left to time and experience to establish their real and full
value.
In regard to the character and authority of the several
manuscripts which have been collated and which in the
notes are referred to, we must wait for the information
which Dr. Kennicott will give us in his general Dissertation.
The knowledge of Hebrew manuscripts is almost a new
subject in literature : little progress has been made in it hither-
to ; and no wonder, when they were esteemed uniformly
consonant one with another, and with the printed text ; con-
sequently useless, and not worth the trouble of examining.
Dr. Kennicott, and his worthy and very able assistant Mr.
Bruns, who have been more conversant with Hebrew manu-
scripts, and have had more experience, and more insight into
the subject, than any, or than all, of the learned of the
present age, will give us the best information concerning it
that can yet be obtained. It must be left to the attentive
observation, and mature experience, of the learned of suc-
ceeding times, to perfect a part of knowledge which, like others,
must, in its nature, wait the result of diligent inquiry, and be
carried on by gradual improvements.
In referring to Dr. Kennicott's Variations, I have given
the whole number of manuscripts or editions which concur
Iviii PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
in any particular reading : what proportion that number
bears to the whole number of collated copies which contain
the book of Isaiah, may, I hope, soon be seen by comparing
it with the catalogue of copies collated, which will be given
at the end of that book. But that the reader in the mean
time, till he can have more full information concerning the
value and authority of the several manuscripts, may at least
have some mark to direct his judgment in estimating the
credit due to the manuscripts quoted, I have, from the kind
communication of Dr. Kennicott concerning the dates of the
manuscripts, whether certain or probable, given some gene-
ral intimation of their value in this respect : for though an-
tiquity is no certain mark of the goodness of a manuscript,
yet it is one circumstance that gives it no small weight and
authority, especially in this case ; the Hebrew manuscripts
being in general more pure and valuable in proportion to
their antiquity ; those of later date having been more stu-
diously rendered conformable to the Masoretic standard.*
Among the manuscripts which have been collated, I con-
sider those of the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries, as
ancient, comparatively and in respect of the rest. There-
fore in quoting a number of manuscripts, w4iere the varia-
tion is of some importance, I have added, that so man)'- of
that number are ancient, that is, are of the centuries above
mentioned.
I have ventured to call this a New Translation, though
much of our vulgar translation is retained in it. As the
style of that translation is not only excellent in itself, but
has taken possession of our ear, and of our taste, to have
endeavoured to vary from if, with no other design than that
of giving something new instead of it, would have been to
disgust the reader, and to represent the sense of the Pro-
phet in a more unfavourable manner ; besides that it is im-
possible for a verbal translator to follow an approved verbal
translation, which has gone before him, without frequently
treading in the very footsteps of it. The most obvious, the
propcrest, and perhaps the only terms which the language
affords, are already occupied ; and without going out of his
way to find worse, he cannot avoid them. Every translator
has taken this liberty with his predecessors : it is no more
• See Kennicott, State of the Printed Heb. Text, Dissert, ii. p. 470.
PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. lix
than the laws of translation admit, nor indeed than the ne-
cessity of the case requires. And as to the turn and modi-
fication of the sentences, the translator, in this particular
province of translation, is, I think, as much confined to the
author's manner, as to his words : so that too great liberties
taken in varying either the expression or the composition,
in order to give a new air to the whole, will be apt to have
a very bad effect. For these reasons, whenever it shall be
thought proper to set forth the Holy Scriptures for the
public use of our church to better advantage, than as they
appear in the present EogUsh translation, the expediency of
which grows every day more and more evident, a revision
or correction of that translation may perhaps be more ad-
visable, than to attempt an entirely new one : For as to the
style and language, it admits of but little improvement;
but, in respect of the sense and the accuracy of interpreta-
tion, the improvements of which it is capable are great and
numberless.
The translation here ofiered will perhaps be found to be
in general as close to the text, and as literal, as our English
version. When it departs at all from the Hebrew text on
account of some correction, which I suppose to be requisite,
I give notice to the reader of such correction, and offer my
reasons for it: if those reasons should sometimes appear
insufficient, and the translation to be merely conjectural, I
desire the reader to consider the exigence of the case, and
to judge, whether it is not better, in a very obscure and
doubtful passage, to give something probable by way of
supplement to the author's sense, apparently defective, than
either to leave a blank in the translation, or to give a merely
verbal rendering, which would be altogether unintelligible.
I believe that every translator whatever of any part of the
Old Testament, has taken sometimes the liberty, or rather
has found himself under the necessity, of offering such ren-
derings as, if examined, will be found to be merely conjec-
tural. But I desire to be understood as offering this apo-
logy in behalf only of translations designed for the private
use of the reader ; not as extended, without proper hmita-
tions, to those that are made for the public service of the
church.
The design of the Notes is to give the reasons and autho-
rities on which the translation is founded ; to rectify or to
explain the words of the text ; to illustrate the ideas, the
IX PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.
images, and the allusions of the Prophet, by referring to
objects, notions, and customs, which peculiarly belong to his
age and his country ; and to point out the beauties of par-
ticular passages. I sometimes indeed endeavour to open the
design of the prophecy, to shew the connexion between its
parts, and to point out the event which it foretells. But in
general I must entreat the reader to be satisfied with my en-
deavours faithfully to express the literal sense, which is all
that I undertake. If he would go deeper into the mystical
sense, into theological, historical, and chronological disquisitions,
there are many learned expositors to whom he may have
recourse, who have written full commentaries on this Prophet ;
to which title the present work has no pretensions. The
sublime and spiritual uses to be made of this peculiarly
evangelical Prophet, must, as I have observed, be all founded
on a faithful representation of the literal sense which his v/ords
contain. This is what I have endeavoured closely and exactly
to express. And within the limits of this humble, but neces-
sary province, my endeavours must be confined. To proceed
further, or even to execute this in the manner I could wish,
were it within my abilities, yet would hardly be consistent
with my present engagements ; which oblige me to offer rather
prematurely to the pubUc, what further time, with more leis-
ure, might perhaps enable me to render more worthy of their
attention.
ISAIAH
CHAP. r.
1 The vision of isaiah the son of amots, which
HE SAW concerning JUDAH AND JERUSALEM ; IN
THE DAYS OF UZZIAH, JOTHAM, AHAZ, HEZEKIAH,
KINGS OF JUDAH.
2 Hear, O ye heavens ; and give ear, O earth !
For it is Jehovah that speaketh.
I have nourished children, and brought them up ;
And even they have revolted from me.
3 The ox knoweth his possessor ;
And the ass the crib of his lord :
But Israel knoweth not Me ;
Neither doth my people consider.
4 Ah, sinful nation ! a people laden with iniquity !
A race of evil doers ! children degenerate !
They have forsaken Jehovah ;
They have rejected with disdain the Holy One of Israel ;
They are estranged from him ; they have turned their
back upon him.
5 On what part will ye smite again, will ye add correction?
The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint :
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no
soundness therein ;
It is wound, and bruise, and putrefying sore ;
6
ISAIAH. CHAP. I.
It hath not been pressed, neither hath it been bound ;
Neither hath it been softened with ointment.
7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burnt with fire ;
Your land, before your eyes strangers devour it ;
And it is become desolate, as if destroyed by an inun-
dation.
8 And the daughter of Sion is left, as a shed in a vineyard ;
As a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a city taken by
siege.
9 Had not Jehovah God of Hosts left us a remnant,
We had soon become as Sodom ; we had been like unto
Gomorrah.
10 Hear ye the word of Jehovah, O ye princes of Sodom !
Give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah !
11 What have I to do w^ith the multitude of your sacrifices ?
saith Jehovah :
I am cloyed with the burnt-offerings of rams, and the
fat of fed beasts ;
And in the blood of bullocks, and of lambs, and of goats,
I have no delight.
12 When you come to appear before me,
Who hath required this at your hands?
13 Tread my courts no more ; bring no more a vain obla-
tion :
Incense ! it is an abomination unto me.
The new moon, and the sabbath, and the assembly pro-
claimed,
I cannot endure ; the fast, and the day of restraint.
14 Your months, and 5'our solemnities, my soul hateth :]'
They are a burthen upon me ; I am weary of bearing
them.
15 When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes
from you ;
Even when ye multiply prayer, I will not hear ;
For 5^our hands are full of blood.
16 Wash ye, make ye clean ; remove ye fur away
The evil of your doings from before mine eyes :
17 Cease to do evil ; learn to do well ;
Seek judgment ; amend that which is corrupted ;
Do justice to the fatherless ; defend the cause of the
widow.
CHAP. 1. ISAIAH.
18 Conie on now, and let us plead together, saith Je-
hovah :
Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white
as snow ;
Though they be red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
19 If ye shall be willing and obedient.
Ye shall feed on the good of the land ;
20 But if ye refuse, and be rebellious.
Ye shall be food for the sword of the enemy :
For the mouth of Jehovah hath pronounced it.
21 How is the faithful city become a harlot !
She that was full of judgment, righteousness dwelled in
her;
But now murtherers !
22 Thy silver is become dross; thy wine is mixed with
water.
23 Thy princes are rebellious, associates of robbers ;
Every one of them loveth a gift, and seeketh rewards :
To the fatherless they administer not justice ;
And the cause of the widow cometh not before them.
24 Wherefore saith the Lord Jehovah God of Hosts, the
Mighty One of Israel ;
Aha ! I will be eased of mine adversaries ;
I will be avenged of mine enemies.
25 And I will bring again mine hand over thee ;
And I will purge in the furnace thy dross ;
And I will remove all thine alloy.
26 And I will restore thy judges, as at the first ;
And thy counsellors, as at the beginning :
And after this thy name shall be called.
The city of righteousness, the faithful metropolis.
27 Sion shall be redeemed in judgment,
And her captives in righteousness :
28 But destruction shall fall at once on the revolters and
the sinners ;
And they that forsake Jehovah shall be consumed.
29 For ye shall be asharaqd of the ilexes, which ye have
desired ;
And ye shall blush for the gardens, which ye have
chosen :
4 ISAlAft. CHAP. 1.
30 When ye shall be a? an ilex-, whose leaves are blasted ;
And as a garden, ^vherein is no water.
31 And the strong shall become tow, and his work a spark
of fire ;
And they shall both burn together, and none shall
quench them.
CHAP. n.
1 The word, which was revealed to isaiah, the
sox of amots, concerning judah and jerusalem.
2 It shall come to pass in the latter days ;
The mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be estab-
lished on the top of the mountains ;
And it shall be exalted above the hills :
i And all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many peoples shall go, and shall say.
Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jeho-
vah ;
To the house of the God of Jacob ;
And he will teach us of his ways ;
And we will walk in his paths :
For from Sion shall go forth the law ;
4 And the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among the nations ;
And shall work conviction in many peoples :
And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
And their £|>ears into pruning-hooks :
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation ;
Neither shall they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob, come ye,
And let us walk in the light of Jehovaii !
6 Verily thou hast abandoned thy people, the house of
Jacob :
Because they are filled with diviners from the east ;
And with soothsayers like the Philistines ;
And they multiply a spurious brood of strange children.
7 And his land is filled with silver and gold ;
And there is no end to his treasures ;
And his land is filled with horses ;
^Neither is there any end to his chariots.
CHAP. II. ISAIAH. .5
8 And his land is filled with idols ;
He boweth himself down to the work of his hands ;
To that which his fingers have made :
9 Therefore shall the mean man be bowed down, and the
mighty man shall be humbled ;
And thou wilt not forgive them.
10 Go into the rock, and hide thyself in the dust ;
From the fear of Jehovah, and from the glory of his
majesty,
When he ariseth to strike the earth with terror.
11 The lofty eyes of men shall be humbled ;
The highth of mortals shall bow down :
And Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.
12 For the day of Jehovah God of Hosts is against every
thing great and lofty ;
And against every thing that is exalted, and it shall be
humbled.
13 Even against all the cedars of Lebanon, tlie high and the
exalted ;
And against all the oaks of Basan :
14 And against all the mountains, the high ones ;
And against all the hills, the exalted ones ;
15 And against every tower, high-raised ;
And against every mound, strongly fortified,
16 And against all the ships of Tarshish ;
And against every lovely work of art.
17 And the pride of man shall bow down ;
And the highth of mortals shall be humbled ;
And Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day :
18 And the idols shall totally disappear;
19 And they shall go into caverns of rocks, and into holes of
the dust ;
From the fear of Jehovah, and from the glory of his
majesty,
When he ariseth to strike the earth with terror.
20 In that day shall a man cast away his idols of silver,
And his idols of gold, which they have made to woi'ship ;
To the moles and to the bats :
21 To go into caves of the rocks, and into clefts of the craggy
rocks ;
6*
6 ISAIAH. ■CHAP.
From ihe fear of Jehovah, and from the glory of his
majesty,
"When he ariseth to strike the earth with terror.
22 Trust ye no more in man, wliose breath is in his nos-
trils ;
For of what account is he to be made ?
CHAP. III.
1 For behold the Lord Jehovah God of Hosts
Removeth from Jerusalem, and from Judah,
Es'ery stay and support ;
The whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water ;
2 The mighty man, and the warrior ;
Tile judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the
sage :
3 The "ruler of fifty, and the honourable person ;
And the counsellor, and the skilful artist, and the power-
ful in persuasion.
4 And 1 will make boys their princes 5
And infants shall rule over them.
5 And the people shall be oppressed, one man by another :
And every man shall behave insolently towards his neigh-
bour;
The boy towards the old man, and the base towards the
honourable.
6 Therefore shall a man take his brother, of his father's
house, by the garment ;
Saying, Come, and be thou ruler over us ;
And let thine hand support our ruinous state.
7 Then shall he openly declare, saying,
1 will not be the healer of your breaches ;
For in my house is neither bread, nor raiment :
Appoint not me ruler of the people.
8 For Jerusalem tottereth, and Judah falleth ;
Because their tongues, and their hands, are against Je-
hovah ;
To provoke by their disobedience the cloud of his glory.
9 The stedfastness of their countenance witnesseth against
them ;
For their sin, like Sodom, they publish, they hide it
not:
Wo to their souls ! for upon themselves have they brought
down evil.
^HAP. til. ISAIAH. ' i
10 Pronounce ye a blessing on the just: veiily good [shall
be to him] ;
For the fruit of his deeds shall he eat.
3.1 Wo to the wicked : evil [shall be his portion] ;
For the work of his hands shall be repaid unto hiiTk
12 As for my people, cfhildrern are their oppressors ;
And women bear rule over them.
'O my people, thy leaders cause thee to err ;
And pervert the way of thy paths.
13 JEiaOVAH arlseth to plead his cause ;
He standeth up to contend with his people.
14 Jehovah will meet in judgment,
The elders of his people, and their princes :
As for you, ye liave consumed my vineyard ]
The plundei" of the poor is in your houses.
15 What mean ye, that ye crush my people;
And grind the faces of the poor ?
Sail'h Jehovah, the Lord of Hosts,
16 Moreover Jehovah hath said'
iBecause the daughters of Sion are haughty^
And walk displaying the neck.
And falsely setting ofiT tlieir eyes with paint;
Mincing their steps as they go,
And with their feet ligluly ^.ripping along :
17 Therefore will the Lord tumble the head of the daugiitcrs
of Sion ;
And Jehovah will ex;pose their nakedness.
18 In that day will the Lord take from ibem the ornaments
Of the feet-rings, and the net-works, and the crescents ;
19 The pendents, and the bracelets, and the thin veils;
20 The tires, and the fetters, and the zones,
And the perfume-boxes, and the amulets ;
21 The rings, and the jewels ofihe nostril;
22 The embroidered robes, and the tunics ;
And the cloaks, and the httle purses ;
23 The transpaa-ent garments, and the fine linen vests ;
And the turbans, and the mantles :
24 And there shall be, instead of perfume, a putrid ulcer ;
And, instead of well-girt raiment, rags ;
And, instead of high-dressed hair, baldness ;
6 ISAIAH. CHAP. in.
And, instead of a zone, a girdle of sackcloth :
A sun-buint skin, instead of beauty.
25 Thy people shall fall by the sword ;
And thy mighty men in the battle.
26 And her doors shall lament and mourn ;
And desolate shall she sit on the ground.
CHAP. IV.
1 And seven women shall lay hold on one man in that day,
saying :
Our own bread will we eat,
And with our own garments will we be clothed ;
Only let us be called by thy name ;
Take away our reproach.
2 In that day shall the branch of Jehovah
Become glorious and honourable ;
And the produce of the land excellent and beautiful,
For the escaped of the house of Israel.
3 And it shall come to pass, whosoever is left in Sion,
And remaineth in Jerusalem,
Holy shall he be called ;
Every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem.
4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the
daughters of Sion ;
And the blood of Jerusalem shall have removed from the
midst of her.
By a spirit of judgment, and by a spirit of burning :
6 Then shall Jehovah create upon the station of Mount
Sion,
And upon all her holy assemblies,
A cloud by day, and smoke ;
And the brightness of a flaming fire by night :
Yea, over all shall the Glory be a covering.
6 And a tabernacle it shall be, for shade by day from the
heat ;
And for a covert, and a refuge, from storm and rain.
CHAP. v.
1. Let me sing now a song to my Beloved ;
A song of loves concerning his vineyard.
My Beloved had a vineyard,
On a high and fruitful hill :
2 And he fenced it round, and he cleared it from the
stones,
t:nAP. V. ISAIAH. "9
And he planted it with the vine of Sorelc-;
And he louilt a tower in the midst of it,
And he hewed out also a lake therein :
And he expected, that it should bring forth grapes,
But it brought forth poisonous berries.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and ye men of Ju-
dah,
Judge, I pi-ay yon, between me and my vineyard :
4 What could have been done moie to my vineyard,
Than I have done unto it?
Why, when I expected that it should bring forth grapesj
Brought it forth poisonous berries ?
5 But come now^, and I will make known unto you,
What I purpose to do to my vineyard :
To remove its hedge, and it diall be devoured ;
To destroy its fence, and it shall be trodden down.
.6 And I wifl make it a desolation :
And it sha?lnot be pruned, neither dhall it be digged ;
But the briar and the thorn shall spring up in it ;
And I will command the clouds,
That they shed no rain upon it.
7 Verily, the vineyard of Jehovah God of Hosts is the
house of Israel ;
And the men of Judah the plant of his delight ".
And he looked for judgment, l3Ut behold tyranny ;
And for righteousness, but behold the cry of the oppressed.
'8 Wo tmto you, who join house to house 3
Who lay fiefkl unto field together ;
Until -there be no place, and 3'e have your dwelling
Alone to yourselves, in the midst of the land.
'9 To mine ear hath Jehovah God of Hosts revealed it :
Surely many houses slrall become a desolation ;
The great and the fair ones, without an inhabitant.
10 Yea, ten acres <3f vineyard shall yield a single bath of
wi^e,
And a chomer of seed shall produce an ephah.
11 Wo unto them, w-ho rise early -in the morning, to follow
strong drink ;
Who sit late in the evening, that wine may inflame them :
3.2 And the lyre, and the harp, the tabor, and the pipe^
Aad winC; s.vq their entertainments :
10 ISAIAH. CHAP. V.
But the works of Jehovah they regard not ;
And the operation of his hands they do not perceive.
13 Therefore my people goeth into captivity for want of
knowledge ;
And their nobles have died willi hunger ;
And their plebeians are parched up with thirst.
14 Therefore Hades hath enlarged his ajipetite ;
And hath stretched open his mouth without measure :
And down go her nobility, and her populace ;
And her busy throng, and all that exult in her.
15 And the mean man shall be bowed down, and the great
man shall be brought low ;
And the eyes of the haughty shall be humbled :
16 And Jehovah God of Hosts shall be exalted in judgment ;
And God the Holy One shall be sanctified by displaying
his righteousness.
17 Then shall the sheep feed without restraint ;
And the kids shall depasture the desolate fields of the lux-
urious.
IS Wo unto them, who draw out iniquity, as a long ca-
ble ;
And sin, as the thick traces of a wain :
19 Who say, let him make speed then, let him hasten
His work, that he may see it ;
And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel
Draw near, and come to pass, that we may know it.
20 Wo vmto them who call evil good, and good evil ;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness ;
Who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
21 Wo unto them, who are wise in their own eyes.
And prudent in their own conceit.
22 Wo unto then), who are powerful to drink wine ;
And men of might to mingle strong drink :
23 Who justify the guilty for reward.
And take away the righteousness of the righteous from him.
24 Therefore, as the tongue of fire licketh up the stubble,
And as the flame dissolveth the chaff;
So shall their root become like touchwood,
And their blossom shall go up like the dust :
Because they have despised the law of Jehovah God of
Hosts ;
And scornfully rejected the word of the Holy One of
Israel.
CHAP. V. ISAIAH.
If
25 Wherefore the anger of Jehovah is kindled against his
people ;
And he hath stretched out his hand against them :
And he smote them ; and the mountains trembled ;
And their carcasses became as the dung in the midst of
the streets.
For all this his anger is not turned away ;
But still is his hand stretched out.
25 And he will erect a standard for the nations afar off;
And he will hist every one of them from the ends of the
earth ;
And behold, with speed swiftly shall they come.
27 None among them is faint, and none stumbleth ;
None shall slumber, nor sleep :
Nor shall the girdle of their loins be loosed ;
Nor shall the latchet of their shoes be unbound.
28 Whose arrows are sharpened ;
And all their bows are bent :
The hoofs of their holses shall be counted as adamant ;
And their wheels as a whirlwind.
29 Their a^rowling is like the growling of the lioness ;
Like the young lions shall they growl :
They shall roar and shall seize the prey ;
And they shall bear it away, and none shall rescue it.
30 In that day, shall they roar against them, like the roar-
ing of the sea;
And these shall look to the heaven upward, and down to
the earth ;
And lo ! darkness, distress !
And the light is obscured by the gloomy vapour.
CHAP. VI.
1 In the year in which Uzziah the king died, I saw Je-
hovah sitting on a throne high and lofty ; and the train
2 of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood seraphim :
each one of them had six wings: with two of them he cov-
ereth his face, with two of them he covereth his feet, and
3 two of them he useth in flying. And they cried alternately,
and said :
Holy, holy, holy, Jehovah God of Hosts !
The whole earth is filled with his glory.
12 ISAIAH, CHAP. Vf- .
4 And the pillars of the vestibule were shaken with the voicr
of their cry ; and the temple was lilled with smoke. And
5 I said, Alas for me ! I am struck dumb : for I am a man
of polluted lips ; and in the mid^t of a people of polluted
lips do I dwell : for mine eyes have seen the King, Je- ■
6 iiovAH God of Hosts. And one of the seraphim came
flyinf^ unto me ; and in bis hand was a burning coal^
which he had taken with the tongs from ofFthealtar. And
7 he touclicd my mouth, and said : —
Lo ! this hath touched thy lips ^
Thine iniquity is removed, and they sin is expiated.
S And I heard the voice of Jehovah, saying: Whom shall
I send ; ami who will go for us ? And I said : Behold;-
9 Here am I ; send me. And he said : —
Go, and say thou to this people ;
Hear ye indeed, but understand not ^
See ye indeed, but perceive not :
Make gross the heart of this people j
Make their ears dull, and close up their eyes ;
Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
And understand with their hearts, and be converted ;:
and I should heal them.
11 And I said : How long, O Jehovah ? . And be said : —
Until cities be laid waste, so that there be no inhabitant ;
And houses, so that there be no man :
And the land be left utterly desolate.
12 Until Jehovah remove man far away ;
And there be many a deserted woman in the midst of
the land.
13 And though tliere be a tenth part remaining in it,
Even this shall undergo a repeated desUuction ;
Yet, as the ilex, and the oak, though cut down, hath its
stock remaining,
A holy seed shall be the stock of the nation.
CHAP. VII.
1 In the days of Ahaz, the son of Jolham, the son of
Uzziah king of Judah, Retsin king of Syria, and Pekah,
the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up against
Jerusalem, to besiege it ; but they could not overcome
2 it. And when it was told to the house of David, that
Syria was supported by Ephraim ; the heart of the king^
CHAP. VII. ISAIAH. 13
and the heart of his people, was moved ; as the trees of
the forest are moved before tlie wind.
3 And Jehovah said to Isaiah : Go out now to meet
Ahaz ; thou and Shearjashub thy son ; at the end of the
aqueduct of the upper pool, at the causeway of the ful-
4 ler's field. And thou shall say unto him : —
Take heed, and be still ; fear not, neither let thy heart
be faint,
Because of the two tails of these smoking firebrands ;
For the fierce wrath of Retsin, and of the son of Re-
maliah.
6 Because Syria hath devised evil against thee ;
Ephraim, and the son of Remahah, saying :
6 Let us go up against Judah, and harass it ;
And let us rend off a part of it for ourselves ;
And let us set a king to reign in the midst of if,
Even the son of Tal^cal.
7 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah :
It shall not stand, neither shall it be.
8 Though the head of Syria be Damascus,
And the head of Damascus, Retsin ;
Yet within threescore and five years
Ephraim shall be broken, that he be no more a
people :
9 Though the head of Ephraim be Samaria ;
And the head of Samaria, Rcmaliah's son.
If ye believe not in me, ye shall not be established.
10 And Jehovah spake yet again to Ahaz, saying :
11 Ask thee a sign from Jehovah thy God :
Go deep to the grave, or high to the heaven above.
12 And Ahaz said : I will not ask ; neither will I tempt
13 Jehovah. And he said :
Hear ye now, O house of David :
Is it a small thing for you to weary men.
That you should weary my God also 1
14 Therefore Jehovah himself shall give you a sign :
Behold, the Virgin conceiveth, and beareth a sonj
And she shall call his name, Iramanuel.
15 Butter and honey shall he eat,
When he shall know to refuse what is evil, and to choose
what is good :
16 For before this child shall know
7
14" I&'AIAH. CHAP. Til.-
To refuse the evil, and to choose the good ;
The land shall become desolate,
By whose two kings thoii art distressed.
17 But Jehovah shall bring upon thee.
And upon thy people, and upon thy father's house,
Days, such as have not come,
From the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.
18 And it shall come to pass in that day ;
Jehovah shall hist the fly.
That is in the utmost part of the rivers of Egypt ;
And the bee, that is in the land of Assyria :
19 And they shall come, and they shall light all of them
On the desolate vallies, and on the craggy rocks,
And on all the thickets, and on all the caverns.
20 In that day, Jehovah shall shave by the hired razor,
By the people beyond the river, by the king of
Assyria,
The head and the hair of the feet ;
And even the beard itself shall be destroyed.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day,
That if a man shall feed a young cow, and two sheep ;
22 From the plenty of milk, which they shall produce, he
shall eat butter :
Even butter and honey shall he eat,
Whosoever is left in the midst of the land.
23 And every vineyard, that hath a thousand vines,
Valued at a thousand piecss of silver.
Shall become in that day briers and thorns.
24 With arrows and with the bows shall they come thither :
For the whole land shall become briers and thorns.
25 And all the hills, which were dressed with the mattock.
Where the fear of briers and thorns never came.
Shall be for the range of the ox, and for the treading of
sheep.
CHAP. viri.
1 And Jehovah said unto me : Take unto thee a large
mirror, and write on it with a workman's graving tool,
2 To hasten the spoil, to take quickly the prey. And
I called unto me for a testimony faithful witnesses;
Uriah the priest, and Zachariah the son of Jeberechiah,
fCHAP. VKI. JSAIAH. 15
3 And I appi-oached unto the pioplietess ; and she con-
ceived, and bare a son. And Jehovah said unto me ;
Call his name Maher-shalal hash-baz ;
4 For before the child shall knov/
To pronounce, My father and My mother,
The riches of Damascus shall be borne away,
And the spoil of Sarfiaria, before the king of Assyria.
5 Yet again Jehovah spake unto me, saying :
6 Because this people hath rejected
The waters of Siloah, which flow gently ;
And rejoiccth in Betsin, and the son of Remaliah :
.7 Therefore behold the Lord bringeth up upon them
The waters of the river, the strong and the- mighty ;
Even the king of Assyria, and all his force.
And he shall rise above all their channels,
And shall go over all their banks,
8 And he shall pass through Judah. overflowing and
spread hi g,
Even -to the neck shall he reach :
And the extension of his wings shall be
*f Over the full breadth of thy land, O Immanuen
tO Know ye this, O ye peoples, and be struck with con-
sternation ;
And give car to it, all ye of distant lands :
Gird yourselves, and be dismayed ; gird yourselves, and
be dismayed.
.10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought ;
Speak the word, and it shall not stand :
For God is with us.
11 For thus said Jehovah unto me ;
As taking me by the hand he instructed me,
That I should not walk in the way of this peopile,
saying :
12 Say ye not, It is holy.
Of every thing of v.'hich this people shall say, It is holy :
And fear ye not the object of their fear, neither be ye ter-
rified.
13 Jehovah God of Hosts, sanctify ye him ;
And let him be your fear, and let him be yoijr dread:
14 And he shall be unto you a sanctuary ;
But a stone of stumbling, and arock of offence,
To the two houses of Icrael ;
16
ISAIAH. CHAP. VIII.
A trap and^a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And man}-^ amon^f them shall stumble.
And shall fall, and be broken ; and shall be ensnared and
caught.
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the command, among my
disciples.
17 I Mill therefore wait for Jehovah, who hideth his
face
From the house of .Tacob ; yet will I look for him.
18 Behold, I, and the children,
\\ honi Jehovah hath given unto me ;
For signs and for wonders in Israel,
From Jehovah God of Hosts,
Who (Kvclleth in the mountain of Sion.
19 And wlien they shall say unto you :
Seek unto the necromancers and the wizards;
To them (bat speak inwardly, and that mutter :
Should not a people seek unto their God 1
Should they seek, instead of the living, unto the dead ?
20 Unto the command, and unto the testimony, let them
seek :
If they will not speak according to this word.
In which there is no obscurity ;
21 Every one of them shall pass through the land distressed
and famished :
And when he shall be famished, and angry with himself.
He shall curse his king and his God.
22 And he shall cast his eyes upwards, and look down to the
earth :
And lo ! distress and darkness !
Gloom, tribulation, and accumulated darkness!
23 But there shall not hereafter be darkness in the land
which was distressed :
In the former time he debased
The land of Zebulon, and the land of Naphthali ;
But in the latter time he hath made it glorious :
Even the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the
nations.
CHAP. IX.
1 The people, that walked in darkness,
Have seen a great light ;
They that dwelled in the land of the shadow of death,
Unto them hath the light shiued.
:ffAP. ^IX. I-SAIAH. 17
2 Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased their
joy :
They rejoice before thee, as with the joy of harvest ;
As they rejoice, who divide the spoil.
3 For the yoke of his burthen, the staff laid on his shoul-
der.
The roil of his oppressor, hast thou broken, as in the day
of Midian.
4 For the greaves of the armed warrior in the conflict.
And the garment rolled in much-blood,
Shall be for a burning, even fuelfor the fire.
5 For unto us a Child is born : unto us a Son is given :
And the government shall be upon his shoulder :
And his name shall be called "Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God, the Father of the everlasting age, the
Prince of peace.
6 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be
no end ;
Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom :
To fix it, and to establish it
"With judgment and with justice, henceforth '^nd for
ever :
The zeal of Jehovah Ged of Hosts will do this.
7 Jehovah hath sent a word against Jacob ;
And it hath lighted upon Israel.
8 Because the people all of them cany themselves haugh-
tily :
Ephraim, and the inhabitant of Samaria ;
In pride and arrogance of heart, saying:
9 The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stone;
The sycamoresare cutdown. but we will replace them with
cedars :
10 Therefore will Jehovah excite the princes of Retsin against
■him ;
And raise up his enemies together :
•11 The Syrians from the east, and the Philistines from the
west ;
And they shall devour Israel on every side.
For all this his anger is not turned away ;
But his hand is still stretched out.
7*
18 ISAIAH. CHAP. IX.
12 Yet this people have not turned unto him that smote
them ;
And Jehovah God of Hosts they have not sought.
13 Therefore shall Jehovah cut oflTfrom Israel the head and
the tail ;
The branch and the rush, in one day :
14 The aged, and the honourable person, he is the head;
And the prophet that teacheth falsehood, he is the tail.
1 5 For the leaders of this people lead them astray ;
And they that are led by them shall be devoured.
16 Wherefore Jehovah shall not rejoice over their young
men ;
And on their orphans, and their widows, he shall have no
compassion.
For every one of them is a hypocrite and evil-doer ;
And every mouth speaketh folly.
For all this his anger is not turned away ;
But his hand is still stretched out.
17 For wickedness burneth like a fire ;
The brier and the bramble it shall consume :
And it shall kindle the thicket of the wood ;
And they shall mount up in volumes of rising smoke.
18 Through the wrath of Jehovah God of Hosts is the land
darkened ;
And the people shall be as fuel for the fire :
A man shall not spare his brother.
19 But he shall snatch on the right, and yet be hungry ;
And he shall devour on the left, and not be satisfied :
Every man shall devour the flesh of his neighbour.
20 Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manas-
seh ;
And both of them shall he united against Judah.
For all this his anger is not turned away ;
But his hand is still stretched out.
chap. X.
1 Wo unto them, that decree unrighteous decrees ;
Unto the scribes, that prescribe oppression :
2 To turn aside the needy from judgment ;
To rob of their right the poor of my people :
CHAP. X. ISAIAH. 19
That the widows may become their prey ;
And that they may plunder the orphans.
3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation ?
And in the desolation j which shall come from afar ?
To whom will ye flee for succour .''
And where will ye deposit your wealth ?
4 Without me, they shall bow down under the bounden,
And under the slain shall they fall.
For all this his anger is not turned away ;
But his hand is still stretched out.
5 Ho! to the Assyrian, the rod of mine anger,
The staff in whose hand is the instrument of mine indig-
nation !
6 Against a dissembling nation will I send him ;
And against a people the object of my wrath will I give
him a charge :
To gather the spoil, and to bear away the prey ;
And to trample them under foot like the mire of the
streets.
7 But he doth not so purpose ;
And his heart doth not so intend :
But to destroy is in his heart ;
And to cut off nations not a few-
8 For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings 1
9 Is not Caluo as Carchemish ?
Is not Hamatfa as Arphad ?
Is not Samaria as Damascus ?
10 As my hand hath seized the kingdoms of the idols,
Whose graven images were superior to those of Samaria and
Jerusalem :
11 As I have done unto Samaria and her idols.
Shall I not likewise do unto Jerusalem, and her images ?
12 But it shall be, when Jehovah hath accomplished his
whole work
Upon Mount Sion, and upon Jerusalem ;
I will punish the effect of the proud heart of the king of
Assyria ;
And the triumphant look of his haughty eyes.
13 For he hath said, By the strength of my hand have I done
it;
And by my wisdom ; for I am endowed with prudence.
20 ISAIAH. CHAP. X.
I have removed the bounds of the peoples ;
And I have plundered their hoarded treasures ;
And I have brought down those, that were strongly
sealed.
14 And my hand hath found, as a nest, the riches of the
peoples ;
And as one gathereth eggs deserted,
So have I made a general gathering of the earth :
And there was no one, that moved the wing ;
That opened the beak, or that chirped.
15 Shall tlie axe boast itself against him, that heweth
therewith ?
Shall the saw magnify itself against him, that moveth it ?
As if the rod sliould wield him, that liftcth it ;
As if the staff should lift up its master.
16 Wherefore Jehovah the Lord of Hosts shall send
Upon his fat ones leanness ;
And under his glory shall he kindl«
A burning as of a conflagration.
17 And the light of Israel shall become a fire,
And his Holy One a flame ;
And he shall burn, and consume his thorn
And his brier in one day.
18 Even the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field,
From the soul even to the flesh, shall he consume ;
And it shall be, as when one fleeth out of the fire.
19 And the remainder of the trees of his forest shall be a small
number,
So that a child may write them down.
20 And it shall come to pass in thai day,
No more shall the remnant of Israel,
And the escaped of the house of Jacob,
Lean upon him, that smote them :
But shall lean upon Jehovah,
The Holy One of Israel, in truth.
21 A remnant shall return, a remnant of Jacob,
Unto God the Mighty.
22 For though thy people, O Israel, shall be as the sand of the
sea,
A remnant of them only shall return.
Tlie consummation decided, overfloweth with strict jus-
tice :
CHAP. X. ISAIAH. 21
23 For a fall and decisive decree
Shall Jehovah the Lord of Hosts accomplish in the midst
of the land.
24 Wherefore thus saith Jehovah the Lord of Hosts :
Fear not, O my people, that dwellest in Sion, because of
the Assyrian :
With his staff indeed shall he smite thee,
And his rod shall he lift up against thee, in the way of
25 But yet a very little time, and mme indignation shall
cease ;
And mine anger in their destruction :
26 And Jehovah God of Hosts shall raise up against him a
scourge.
Like the stroke upon Midian at the rock of Oreb,
And like the rod which he lifted up over the sea ;
Yea he will lift it up, after the manner of Egypt.
27 And it shall come to pass in that day.
His burthen shall be removed from off thy shoulder,
And his yoke from off thy neck:
Yea the yoke shall perish from off your shoulders.
28 He is come to Aiath ; he hath passed to Migron ;
At Michmas he will deposit his baggage.
29 They have passed the strait ; Geba is their lodging for
the night :
Ramah is frightened ; Gibeah of Saul fleeth.
30 Cry aloud with thy voice, O daughter of Gallim ;
Hearken unto her, O Laish ; answer her, O Anathoth.
31 Madmena is gone away; the inhabitants of Gebim flee
amain.
32 Yet this day shall he abide in Nob :
He shall shake his hand against the mount of the daugh-
ter of Sion ;
Against the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Behold Jehovah, the Lord of Hosts,
Shall lop the flourishing branch with a dreadful crash ;
And the high of stature shall be cut down.
And the lofty shall be brought low :
34 And he shall hew the thickets of the forest with iron,
And Lebanon shall fall by a mighty hand.
22 ISAIAH. CHAP. XI.
CHAP. XI.
i But ihcie shall spring foitli a rod from the trunk of
Jesse ;
And a scion from his roots shall become fruitful.
2 And the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him ;
The spirit of wisdom, and understanding ;
The spirit of counsel, and strength ;
The spirit of the knowledge, and the fear of Jehovah.
3 And he shall be of quick discernment in the fear of Jeho-
vah :
So that not according to the sight of his e3-es shall he
judge ;
Nor according to the hearing of his ears shall he re-
prove.
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor,
And with equity shall he work conviction in the meek of
the earth.
And he shall smite the earth with a blast of his mouth.
And with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked
one.
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins ;
And faithfulness the cincture of his reins.
6 Then shall the wolf take up his abode with the lamb ;
And the leopard shall lie down with the kid :
And the calf, and the young lion, and the fathng shall
come together ;
And a little child shall lead them.
7 And the heifer and the she-bear shall feed together ;
Together shall their young ones lie down ;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the suckling shall play upon the hole of the aspic;
And upon the den of the basilisk shall the new-weaned
child lay his hand.
9 They shall not hurt, nor destroy, in all my holy moun-
tain ;
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah,
As the waters that cover the depths of the sea.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day,
The root of Jesse, which standcth for an ensign to the
peoples,
Unto him shall the nations repair,
And his resting-place shall be glorious.
CHAP. Xr. ISAIAH. 23
11 And it shall come to pass in that da}'',
Jehovah shall again the second time put forth his hand,
To recover the remnant of his people
That remaineth, from Assyria, and from Egypt ;
And from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam ;
And from Shinear, and from Hamath, and from the
western regions.
12 And he shall lift up a signal to the nations ;
And he shall gather the outcasts of Israel,
And the dispersed of Judah shall he collect,
From the four extremities of the earth.
13 And the jenlousy of Ephraim shall cease ;
And the enmity of Judah shall be no more :
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah ;
And Judah shall not be at enmity with Ephraim.
14 But they shall invade the borders of the Philistines west-
ward ;
Together shall they spoil the children of the east :
On Edom and Moab they shall lay their hand ;
And the sons of Ammon shall obey them.
15 And Jehovah shall smite with a drought the tongue of
the Egyptian sea ;
And he shall shake his hand over the river with his vehe-
ment wind ;
And he shall strike it into seven streams,
And make them pass over it dry-siiod.
16 And there shall be a high-way for the renmant of his
people.
Which shall remain from Assyria :
As it was unto Israel,
In the day when he came up from the land of Egypt.
CHAP. XII.
1 And in that day thou shalt say :
I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah ; for though
thou hast been angry with me,
Thine anger is turned away, and thou hast comforted me.
2 Behold, God is my salvation ;
I will trust, and will not be afraid ;
For my strength, and my song, is Jehovah ;
And he is become unto me salvation.
3 And when ye shall draw waters with joy from the foun-
4 tains of salvation : in that day ye shall say :
Give ye thanks to Jehovah; call upon his name ;
24 ISAIAH. CHAP. XII.
Make known among the peoples his miglity deeds :
Record ye, how highly his name is exalted.
5 Sing ye Jehovah ; for he hath wrought a stupendous
work :
This is made manifest in all the earth.
6 Cry aloud, and shout for joy, O inhabitrcss of Sion ;
For great in the midst of thee is the Holy One of
Israel.
CHAP. XIII.
i The oracle concerning babylon, which was
REVEALED TO ISAIAH, THE SON OF AMOTS.
2 Upon a lofty mountain erect the standard ;
Exalt the voice ; beckon with the hand ;
That they may enter the gates of princes.
3 I have given a charge to mine enrolled warriors ;
I have even called my strong ones to execute my wrath ;
Those that exult in my greatness.
4 A sound of a multitude in the m.ountains, as of a great
people ;
A sound of the tumult of kingdoms, of nations gathered
together !
Jehovah, God of Hosts, mustereth the host for the
battle.
5 They come from a distant land, from the end of the
heavens ;
Jehovah, and the instruments of his wrath, to destroy the
whole land.
G Howl ye, for the day of Jehovah is at hand:
As a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
7 Therefore shall all hands be slackened ;
And every heart of mortal shall melt ; and they shall be
terrified :
8 Torments and pangs shall seize them ;
As a woman in travail, they shall be pained :
They shall look one upon another with astonishment ;
Their countenances shall be like flames of fire.
9 Behold, the day of Jehovah comcth, inexorable ;
Even indignation, and burning wrath :
To make the land a desolation ;
And her sinners he shall destroy from out of her.
•CHAP. XIII. ISAIAH. 25
10 Yea the stars of heaven, and the constellations thereof,
Shall not send forth their light :
The sun is darkened at his going forth,
And the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will visit the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity :
And I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud ;
And I will bring down the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a mortal more precious than line gold ;
Yea a man, than the rich ore of Ophir.
13 Wherefore i will make the heavetis tremble :
And the earth shall be shaken out of her place;
In the indignation of Jehovah God of Hosts ;
And in the day of his burning anger.
14 And the remnant shall be as a roe chased ;
And as sheep, when there is none to gather tlieni to-
gether ;
They shall look, every one towards his ov.'n people ;
And they shall flee every one to his own land.
15 Every one, that is overtaken, shall be thrust throcigh ;
And all that are collected in a body shall fall by the
sword.
16 And their infants shall be dashed before their eyes ;
Their houses shall be plundered, and their wives ravished.
17 Behold, I raise up against them the Modes ;
Who shall hold silver of no account ;
And as for gold, they shall not dehght in it.
18 Their bows shall dash the young men ;
And on the fruit of the womb they shall have no mercy ;
Their eye shall have no pity even on the children.
19 And Babylon shall become, she that was the beauty of
kingdoms,
The glory of the pride of the Chaldeans,
As the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah by the hand of
God.
20 It shall not be inhabited for ever ;
Nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation :
Neither shall the Arabian pitch his tent there ;
Neither shall the shepherds make their folds there.
21 But there shall the wild beasts of the deserts lodge ;
And howling monsters shall fill their houses :
And there shall the daughters of the ostrich dwell ;
And there shall the satyrs hold their revels.
8
20 ISAIAH. CHAP. XIII.
22 And wolves shall howl to one another in their palaces ;
And dragons in their voluptuous pavilions.
And her time is near come ;
And her days shall not be prolonged.
CHAP. XIV. .
1 For Jehovah will have compassion on Jacob,
And will yet choose Israel.
And he shall give them rest upon their own land :
And the stranger shall be joined unto them,
And shall cleave unto the house of Jacob.
2 And the nations shall take them, and bring them into their
own place ; , . i i j f
And the house of Israel shall possess them in the land ot
Jehovah,
As servants and as handmaids :
And they shall take them captive, whose captives they
were ;
And they shall rule over their oppressors.
3 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah
«=hall give thee rest from thine affliction, and from thy
disquiet, and from the hard servitude which was laid
4 upon thee; and thou shall pronounce this parable upon
the king of Babylon ; and shalt say :
How hath the oppressor ceased ! the exactress of gold
ceased ! . . , , i
5 Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre
of the rulers. .
6 He that smote the peoples in wrath, with a stroke unre-
mitted ; . " 1 J
He that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none
hindereth. r .u • »
r The whole earth is at rest, is quiet ; they burst forth into
a jovful shout : , , i c t ;
8 Even 'the fir-trees rejoice over thee, the cedars ot l^i-
banus : . ^
Since thou art ftillen, no feller hath come up against us.
9 Hades from beneath is moved because of thee, to meet
thee at thy coming : , , „ , , i • <• ^r
He rouseth for thee the mighty dead, all the great chiefs ot
the earth ; ,i i i • f
He maketh to rise up from their thrones, all the kings ot
the nations.
CHAP. XIV. ISAIAH. 27
10 All of them shall accost thee, and shall say unto thee :
Art thou, even thou too, become weak as we ? art thou
madelike unto us?
11 Is then thj^oride brought down to the grave ; the sounJ of
thy sprightly instruments ?
i^'-U\. nv<.w ., ig i\^Q vermin become thy couch, and the earth-worm thy
V-w-wv) t?^-r. '■••-covering? ' '; '^ '' ■ , - v\- >- .. -.
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the
morning! .., • -
jUtu^Ut^ ^rt' cut 3own to the earth,^thou that didst subdue the na-
tions ! j, .1 ,,,,
13 Yet thou didst say in thy heart : I will ascend the hea-
vens ;
Above the stars of God I will exal^t-my throne ;
And I will sit upon the mount of the divine presence on
the sides of the north : . , ,
14 I will ascend above the highths of the clouds; I will be like
the Most High. ._/. , ,,
15 But ihou shalt be brought down to the grave, to the sides
of the pit. : .,,
16 Those that see thee shall look attentively at thee ; they
shall well consider thee :
Is this the man, that made the earth to tremble ; that
shook the kingdoms ?
17 That made the world Hke wOl desert ; that destroyed the
cities ? , ......
That never dismissed his caplives to their own home?
• IS All the kings of the nations, all of them.
Lie down in glory, each in his own sepulchre :
, 19 But thou ait cast out of the grave, as the tree abomi-
^,. nated ;
' "~ Clothed with the slain, with the pierced by the sword,
With them that go down to the stones of the pit ; as a
trodden carcass.
20 Thou shalt not be joined unto them in burial ;
Because thou hast destroyed thy country, thou hast slain
thy people:
The seed of evil doers shall never be renowned.
21 Prepare ye slaughter for his children, for the iniquity of
their fathers ;
Lest they rise, and possess the earth ; and fill the face of
the world with cities.
2§ ISAIAH. CHAP. xrr.
22 For I will arise against them, saith Jehovah God of
Hosts :
And I will cut off from Babylon the name, and the rem-
nant ;
And the son, and the son's son, saith Jehovah.
23 And I will make it an inheritance for the porcupine, and
pools of water ;
And T will plunge it in the miry gulf of destruction, saith
Jehovah God of Hosts.
24 Jehovah God of Hosts hath sworn, saying :
Surely as I have devised, so shall it be ;
And as I have purposed, that thing shall stand :
25 To crush the Assyrian in my land, and to trample him on
my mountains.
Then shall his yoke depart from off them :
And his burthen shall be removed from off their shoukfer.
26 This is the decree, which is determined on the whole
earth ;
And this the hand, which is stretched out over all the na-
tions :
27 For Jehovah God of Hosts hath decreed ; and who shall
disannul it?
And it is his hand that is stretched out ; and who shall
turn it back 1
28 In the year in which ahaz the king died, this
oracle was delivered.
29 IIejoice not, O Philistia, with one consent.
Because the rod that smote thee is broken :
For from the root of the serpent shall come forth a basi-
lisk ;
And his fruit shall be-a flying fiery serpent.
30 For the poor shall feed on my choice first-fruits ;
And the needy shall lie down in security :
But he will kill thy root with drought :
And thy remnant he will slay.
31 Howl, () gate ; cry out, O city !
O Philistia, thou art altogether sunk in consternation t
For from the north cometh a smoke ;
And there shall not be a straggler among his levies.
CHAP. XIV. ISAI.4H. 29
23 And what answer shall be given lo the ambassadors of the
nations ?
That Jehovah hath laid the foundation of Sion ;
And the poor of his people shall take refuge in her.
CHAP. XV.
1 The oracle concerning moab.
Because in the night Ar is destroyed, Moab is un
done !
Because in the night Kiris destroyed, Moab is undone !
2 He goeth up to Beth-Dibon, to the high places to weep :
Over Nebo, and over Medeba, shall Moab howl :
On every head there is baldness ; every beard is shorn.
3 In her streets they gird themselves with sackcloth :
On her house-tops, and to her open places,
Every one howleth, descendeth with weeping.
4 And Heshbon and Eleale cry out aloud ;
Unto Jahats is their voice heard :
Yea the very loins of Moab cry out ;
Her life is grievous unto hei*.
5 The heart of Moab crieth within her ;
To Tsoar [she crieth out] like the lowing of a young
heifer :
Yea the ascent of Luhith with weeping shall they ascend ;
Yea in the v.^ay of Horonaim they raise a cry of destruc-
tion.
9 For the waters of Nimrim shall become desolate :
For the pasture is withered, the tender plant faileth, the
green herb is no more.
7 Wherefore the riches, which they have gained, shall
perish ;
And what they have deposited, to the valley of willows
shall be carried away.
8 For the cry encompasseth the border of Moab :
To Eglaim reacheth her moan ; and to Beer-Elim her
howling.
Q Yea the waters of Dimon are full of blood :
Yet will I bring more evils upon Dirnon ;
Upon the escaped of Moab and Ariel, and the remnant of
Admah.
8*
30 ISAIAH, > CHAP. xri.
CHAP. XVI.
1 I will send forth the son of the ruler of the land,'
From Sclah of the desert to the mount of the daughter of
Sion.
2 And as wandering birds, driven from the nest,
So shall he the daughters of Moab at the fords of Ar-
non.
3 Impart counsel ; interpose with equity ;
Make thy shadows as the night in the midst of noon-day.
Hide the outcasts ; discover not the fugitive.
4 Let the outcasts of Moab sojourn with thee, [O Sion] ;
Be thou to them a covert from the destroyer.
For the oppressor is no more, the destroyer ceaseth ;
He that trampled you under foot is perished from the
land.
5 And the throne shall be established in mercy,
And in truth shall One sit thereon ;
In the tabernacle of David a judge ;
Carefully searching out the right, and dispatching justice.
6 We have heard the pride of Moab ; he is very proud ;
His haughtiness, and his pride, and his anger : vain are
his lies.
7 Therefore shall Moab lament aloud ;
For the whole people of Moab shall he lament ;
For the men of Kirhares shall ye make a moan.
8 For the fields of Heshbon are put to shame ;
The vine of Sibmah languisheth.
Whose generous shoots overpowered the mighty lords of
the nations ;
They reached unto Jazer ; they strayed to the desert :
Her branches extended themselves, they passed over the
sea.
9 Wherefore I will weep, as with the weeping of Jazer, for
the vine of Sibmah ;
I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon and Elea-
leh !
For upon thy summer fruits, and upon thy vintage, the
destroyer hath fallen.
10 And joy and gladness is taken away from the fruitful
field ;
And in the vineyards they shall not sing, they shall not
shout :
In the vats the treader shall not tread out the wine ;
An end is put to the shouting.
CHAP. XVI. ISAIAH. 31
11 Wherefore my bowels for Moab like a harp shall sound ;
And my entrails for Kirhares.
12 And it shall be, when Moab shall see,
That he hath wearied himself out on the high place,
That he shall enter his sanctuary.
To intercede : but he shall not prevail.
13 This is the word, which Jehovah spake concerning
14 Moab long ago ; but now Jehovah hath spoken, saj^-
ing:
After three years, as the years of an hireling. •
The glory of Moab shall be debased, in all his ' great
multitude ;
And the remnant shall be few, small, and without
strength.
chap. xvii.
1 The oracle concerning Damascus.
Behold Damascus is removed, so as to be no more a
city :
It shall even become a ruinous heap.
2 The cities are deserted for ever ;
They shall be given up to the flocks.
And they shall lie down, and none shall scare them
away.
3 And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim,
And the kingdom from Damascus :
And the pride of Syria shall be as the glory of the sons of
Israel ;
Saith Jehovah the God of Hosts.
4 And it shall come to pass in that day,
The glory of Jacob shall be diminished.
And the fatness of his flesh shall become lean.
5 And it shall be, as when one gathereth the standing
harvest.
And his arm reapeth the ears of corn :
Or as when one gleaneth ears in the valley of Rephaim,
6 A gleaning shall be left in it, as in the shaking of the
olive tree ;
Two or three berries on the top of the uppermost bough ;
Four or five on the straggling fruitful branches :
Saith Jehovah the God of Israel.
32 fsAufi. CHAP. xrw.
7 In that day shall a man regard his Maker,
And toward the Holy One of Israel shall his eyes look :
8 And he shall not legard the altars dedicated to the \\'ork
of his hands }
And what his fingers have made,- he shall not respect ;
Nor the groves, nor the solar statues.
9 In that day shall his strongly fenced cities become
Like the desertion of the Hivites and tl>e Amorites,
When they deserted the land before the face of the
sons of Israel ;
And the land shall become a desolation-
10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation,
And hast not remembered the rock of thy strength ;
Therefore, when thou shalt have planted pleasant plants,
And shalt have set shoots from a foreign soil ;
11 In the day when thou shalt have made thy plants to
grow,
And in the morning, when thoo shalt have made thy shoots
to spring forth ;
Even in the day of possession shall the harvest betaken
away.
And there shall be sorrow withoiit hope.
12 Wo to the multitude of the numerous peoples,
Who make a sound like the sound of the seas :
And to the roaring of the nations,
Who make a roaring like the roaring of mighty waters.
IB Like the roaring of mighty waters do the nations roar ;
But he shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away ^
And they shall be driven hke the chaff of the hills before
the windj
And like ihe gossamer before the whirlwind.
14 At the season of evening, behold terror !
Before the morning, and he is no more !
This is the portion of those that spoil us ;
And the lot of those that plunder us.
CHAPi XVIII.
1 Ho ! to the land of the winged cymbal,
Which borders on the rivers of Cush ;
2 Which scndetii ambassadors on the sea,
And in vessels of papyrus on the face of the waters-
CHAP. XVIII. ISAIAH. 33
Go, ye swift messengers,
To a nation stretched out in length, and smoothed ;
To a people terrible from the first, and hitherto ;
A nation meted out by line, and trodden down ;
Whose land the rivers have nourished.
3 Yea, all ye that inhabit the vorld, and that dwell on the
earth.
When the standard is lifted up on the mountains, be-
hold !
And when the trumpet is sounded, hear !
4 For thus hath Jehovah said unto me :
I will sit still, and regard my fixed habitation ;
Like the clear heat after rain,
Like the dewy cloud in the day of harvest.
5 Surely before the vintage, when the bud is perfect,
And the blossom is become a swelling grape ;
He shall cut off the shoots with pruning-hooks,
And the branches he shall take aw^ay, he shall cut down.
6 They shall be left together to the rapacious bird of the
mountains ;
And to the w- ild beasts of the earth :
And the rapacious bird shall summer upon it ;
And every wild beast of the earth shall winter upon it.
7 At that time shall a gift be brought to Jehovah the God
of Hosts,
Fion) a people stretched out in length, and smoothed ;
A nation meted out by line, and trodden down ;
And from a people terrible from the first, and hitherto •
Whose land the rivers have nourished;
To the place of the name of Jehovah God of Hosts, to
Mount Sion.
CHAP. XIX.
1 The oracle concerning egypt.
Behold, Jehovah rideth
On a swift cloud, and cometh to Egypt ! '
And the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence ;
And the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of her.
2 And I will excite Egyptians against Egyptians,
And they shall fight, every man against his brothei-, and
every man against his neighbour :
34 ISAIAH. CHAP, XIX.
City against city, kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of her ;
And I will swallow up her counsel :
And they shall seek to the idols, and to the sorcerers,
And to the necromancers, and to the wizards.
4 And I will give up Egypt bound into the hands of cruel
lords,
And a fierce king shall rule over them ;
Sailh the Lord Jehovah God of Hosts.
5 Then shall the waters fail from the sea,
And the river shall be wasted and dried up.
6 And the streams shall become putrid ;
The canals of Egypt shall be emptied and dried up.
The reed and the lotus shall wither :
7 The meadow by the canal, even at the mouth of the
canal,
And all that is sown by the canal,
Shall wither, be blasted, and be no more.
8 And the fishers shall mourn, and lament ;
All those that cast the hook in the river.
And those that spread nets on the face of the waters,
shall languish.
9 And they that work the fine flax shall be confounded.
And they that weave net-work.
10 And her stores shall be broken up ,
Even of all that make a gain of pools for fish.
11 Surely, the princes of Zoan are fools ;
The wise counsellors of Pharaoh have covmselled a bru-
tish counsel.
How will ye boast unto Pharaoh :
I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings ?
12 Where are they ; where, thy wise men ? let them come ;
And let them tell thee now, and let them declare,
What Jkhovah God of Hosts hath determined against
Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of
Noph am deceived ;
They have caused Egypt to err, even the chief pillars of
her tribes,
14 Jehovah hath mingled in the midst of them a spirit of
giddiness ;
And they have caused Egypt to err in all her works.
As a drunkard staggereth in his vomit :
CHAP. XIX.
ISAIAH. 35
15 Nor shall there be any work in Egypt,
Which the head or tail, the branch or rush, may per-
form.
16 In that day the Egyptians shall be as women ;
And they shall tremble and fear,
At the shaking of the hand of Jehovah God of Hosts,
Which he shall shake over them.
17 And the land of Juduh shall become a terror to the
Egyptians :
If any one mention it unto them, they shall fear;
Because of the counsel of Jehovah God of Hosts,
Which he hath counselled against them.
18 In that day, there shall be five cities in the land of
Egypt,
Speaking the language of Canaan,
And swearing unto Jehovah God of Hosts :
One of them shall be called the City of the Sun.
19 In that day, there shall be an altar to Jehovah
In the midst of the land of Egypt ;
And a pillar by the border thereof to Jehovah :
20 And it shall be for a sign, and for a witness,
To Jehovah God of Hosts in the land of Egypt :
That, when they cried unto Jehovah because of oppres-
sors.
He sent unto them a saviour, and a vindicator, and he
delivered them.
21 And Jehovah shall be known to Egypt,
And the Egyptians shall know Jehovah in that day ;
And they shall serve him with sacrifice and oblation,
And they shall vow a vow unto Jehovah, and shall per-
form it.
22 And Jehovah shall smite Egypt, smiting and healing
her ;
And they shall turn unto Jehovah, and he will be en-
treated by them, and will heal them.
23 In that day, there shall be a high-way from Egypt to
Assyria ;
And the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the
Egyptian into Assyria :
And the Egyptian shall worship with the Assyrian.
24l In that day, Israel shall be reckoned a third,
Together with Egypt and Assyria ;
A blessing in the midst of the earth :
ISAIAH. CHAP. XIX,
25 Whom Jehovah God of Hosts hath blessed, saying:
Blessed be my people, Egypt ;
And Assyria, the work of my hands ;
And Israel, mine inheritance.
CHAP. XX.
1 In the year that Tharthan marched to Ashdod ;
whither he was sent by Sargon king of Assyria ; (and lie
fought against Ashdod, and took it) ; at that time Je-
2 HovAH spake by Isaiah, the son of Amots, saying :
Go, loose the sackcloth {"rum off thy loins ;
And put oil" thy shoes from thy feet.
3 And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And Je-
hovah said :
As my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and bare-
foot ;
A sign and a prodigy of three years.
Upon Egypt and upon Cush :
4 So shall the king of Assyria lead
The captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Cush,
The young and the old, naked and barefoot ;
With their hind-parts discovered, to the shame of the
Egyptians.
5 And they [of Ashdod] shall be terrified, and ashamed
of Cush in whom they trusted.
And of Egypt, in whom they gloried.
6 And the inhabitant of this countiy shall say, in that
day:
Behold, such is the object of our trust,
To whom we fled for succour,
That we might be delivered from the king of Assyria !
How then shall we escape 'I
CHAP. XXI.
1 The oracle concerning the desert of the sea.
Like the southern tempests violently rushing along,
From tlic desert he comctli, from the terrible country,
2 A dreadful vision ! it is revealed unto inc :
The plunderer, is plundered, and the dcstroyei is de-
stroyed !
CHAP. XXI.
ISAIAH. 37
Go up, O Elam ; from the siege, 0 Media !
I have put an end to all her vexations.
3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain :
Anguish hath seized rae, as the anguish of a woman in
travail.
I am convulsed, so that I cannot hear ; I am astonished,
so that I cannot see.
4 My heart is bewildered ; terrors have scared me :
The evening, for which I longed, hath he turned into
horror.
5 The table is prepared, the watch is set ; they eat, they
drink :
Rise, O ye princes ; anoint the shield.
6 For thus hath the Lord said unto me :
Go, set a watchman on his station ;
Whatever he shall see, let him report unto thee.
7 And he saw a chariot with two riders ;
A rider on an ass, a rider on a camel.
And he observed diligently with extreme diligence.
8 And he that looked out on the watch cried aloud :
O my Lord, I keep my station all the day long ;
And on my ward have I continued every night.
9 And behold, here cometh a man, one of the two riders :
And he answereth, and sayeth, Babylon is fallen, is
fallen ;
And all the graven idols of her gods are broken to the
ground.
10 O my threshing, and the corn of my floor !
What 1 have heard from Jehovah God of Hosts, the
God of Israel,
That I have declared unto you.
11 The oracle concerning dumah.
A VOICE crieth unto me from Seir :
Watchman, what from the night?
Watchman, what from the night ?
12 The watchman replieth :
The morning cometh, and also the night.
If ye will inquire, inquire ye : come again.
9
ISAIAH. CHAr. XXK
13 The oracle concerning arabia.
In the forest, at even, shall ye lodge,
O ye caravans of Dcdan !
14 To meet the thirsty bring j^c forth water,
O inhabitants of the southern country ;
With bread prevent the fugitive.
15 For from the face of the sword they shall flee :
From the face of the drawn sword ;
And from the face of the bended bow ;
And from the face of the grievous war.
16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me :
Wiihin yet a year, as the years of an hireling,
Shall all the glory of Kedar be consumed ;
17 And tlie remainder of the number of the mighty bow-
men,
Of the sons of Kedar, shall be diminished :
For Jehovah the God of Israel hath spoken it.
CHAP. XXII.
1 The oracle concerning the valley of viaioN.
What aileth thee now, that all thine inhabitants are
gone up to the house-tops?
2 O thou, that wast full of noise,
A tumultuous city, a joyous city !
Thy slain were not slain by the sword.
Neither did they die in battle.
3 All thy leaders are gone off together ; they are fled from
the bow ;
All that were found in thee arc lied together, they are
gone far away.
4 Wherefore I said : Turn away from me ; I will weep
bitterly :
Strive not to comfort me for the desolatiou of the daugh-
ter of my people.
5 For it is a day of (rouble, and of treading down, and of
perplexity ;
The day of the Lord Jehovah God of Hosts in the
valley of vision :
CHAP, XXII. ISAIAH. 39
Breaking down the wall, and crying to the mountain.
6 And Elam beaieth the quiver ;
y/ilh chariots conieth the Syrian, and with horsemen ;
And Kir uncovereth the shield.
7 And thy choicest valleys shall be filled with chariots;
And the horsemen shall set themselves in array against
the gate ;
8 A nd the barrier of Judah shall be laid open :
Then thou shall look towards the arsenal of the house
of the forest.
9 And the breaches of the city of David, ye shall see that
they are many ;
And ye shall collect the Avaters of the lower pool ;
10 And the houses of Jerusalem ye shall number ;
And ye shall break down the houses to fortify the ram-
part :
11 And ye shall make a lake between the two walls,
To receive the waters of the old pool.
But ye look not to him, that hath disposed this :
And him that formed it of old, )^e regard not.
12 And the Lord Jehovah God of Hosts called in that day,
To weeping, and to lamentation ;
And to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth :
13 But, behold, joy and gladness.
Slaying of oxen, and killing of sheep ;
Eating of flesh, and drinking of wine :
Let us eat, and drink ; for to-morrow we die.
14 And the voice of Jehovah God of Hosts was revealed
to mine ears :
Surely this your iniquity shall not be expiated, till ye
die,
Saith the Lord Jehovah God of Hosts.
15 Thus saith the the Lord Jehovah God of Hosts : Go,
get thee to this treasurer, unto Shebna, who is over tiie
household ; and say unlo him :
16 What hast thou here? and whom host thou here?
That thou hast hewn out here a sepulchre for thy-
self?
O thou that hewest out thy sepulchre on high,
That gravest in the rock an habitation for thyself !
40 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXII.
17 Behold Jehovah will cast thee out,
Casting thee violently out, and will surely cover thee :
IS He will whirl thee round and round, and cast thee away,
Like a ball [from a sling] into a wide country :
There shalt thou die; and there shall thy glorious
chariots
Become the shame of the house of thy lord.
19 And I will drive thee from thy station.
And from thy state will I overthrow thee.
20 And in that day I will call my servant,
Even Eliakim the son of Hilkiah :
21 And I will clothe him with thy robe,
And with thy baldric will I strengthen him :
And thy government will I commit to his hand ;
And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusa-
lem,
And to the house of Judah :
22 And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his
shoulder ;
And he shall open, and none shall shut ;
And he shall shut, and none shall open.
23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place ;
And he shall become a glorious seat for his father's
house.
24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his
father's house,
The offspring of high and of low degree ;
Every small vessel ; from every sort of goblets,
To every sort of meaner vessels.
25 In that day, saith Jehovah God of Hosts,
The nail once fastened in a sure place shall be moved ;
And it shall be hewn down, and it shall fall ;
And the burthen which was upon it, shall be cut off:
For Jehovah hath spoken it.
chap. xxiii.
1 The oracle concerning tyre.
Howl, O ye ships of Tarshish !
For she is utterly destroyed both within and without :
From the land of Chittim the tidings are brought unto
them.
CHAP. XXIII. ISAIAH. , 41
2 Be silent, O ye inhrcbitants of the sea-coast :
The merchants of Siclon, they that pass over the sea,
crowded thee.
3 And the seed of the Nile, growing from abundant w^a-
teis I
The harvest of the river, was her revenue :
And she became the mart of the nations.
4 Be thou ashamed, O Sidon ; for the sea hath spoken,
Even the mighty fortress of the sea, saying :
I am as if I had not travailed, nor brought forth chil-
dren ;
As if I had not nourished youths, nor educated virgins.
5 When the tidings shall reach Egypt,
They shall be seized with anguish at the tidings of Tyre.
6 Pass ye over to Tarshish ; howl, O ye inhabitants of tlie
sea-coast !
7 Is this your triumphant city ; whose antiquity is of the
earliest date 1
Her own feet bear her far awa)'" to sojourn.
8 Who hath purposed this against Tyre, who dispensed
crowns ;
Whose merchants were princes ; whose traders were no-
bles of tbe land J
9 Jehovah God of Hosts had counselled it ;
To stain the pride of all beauty ;
To make contemptible all the nobles of the earth.
10 Overflow tby land, like a river,
O daughter of Tarshish ; the mound [that kept in thy wa-
ters] is no more.
XX He hath stretched his hand over the sea ; he hath shaken
the kingdoms :
Jehovah hath issued a command concerning Canaan,
that they should destroy her strong places.
12 And he hath said : Thou shall triumph no more,
O thou delloured virgin, the daughter of Sidon !
To Chittim arise, pass over ; even there thou shalt have no
rest.
13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans ;
This people was of no account ;
(The Assyrian founded it for the inhabitants of tlie
desert ;
9*
42 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXIII.
They raised the watch-towers, they set up the palaces
thereof) :
This people hath reduced her to a ruin.
14 Howl, O ye ships of Tarshish ; for your stronghold is de-
stroyed.
15 And it shall come to pass in that day ;
That Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years,
According to the days of one king :
* At the end of seventy years,
Tyre shall sing, as the harlot singeth.
15 Take thy lyre, go about the city, O harlot long forgotten ;
Strike the lyre artfully ; multiply the song ; that thou
mayest again be remembered.
17 And at the end of sevent}?^ years,
Jehovah will take account of Tyre :
And she shall return to her gainful practice ;
And she shall play the harlot with all the kingdom of the
world.
That are upon the face of the earth.
IS But her traffic, and her gain, shall be holy to Jehovah :
It shall not be treasured, nor shall it be kept in store ;
For her traffic shall be for ^them, that dwell before Jeho-
vah,
For food sufficient, and for durable clothing.
CHAP. XXIV.
1 Behold. Jehovah emptieth the land, and maketh it
waste ;
He even turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the
inhabitants.
2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest ;
As with the servant, so with his master ;
As with the handmaid, so with her mistress ;
As with the buyer, so with the seller ;
As with the borrower, so with the lender ;
Aswith the usurer, so with the giver of usury.
3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoilei;
For Jehovah hath spoken this word.
4 The land mourneth, it withercth ;
The world languisheth, it withereth ;
The lofty people o^thc land do languish.
CHAP. XXIV. ISAIAH. 43
5 The land is even polluted under her inhabitants ;
For they have transgressed the law, they have changed
the decree ;
6 They have broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore hath a curse devoured the land ;
Because they are guilty, that dwell in her.
Therefore are the inhabitants of the land destroyed ;
And few are the mortals that are left in her.
7 The new wine mourneth ; the vine languisheth ;
All, that were glad of heart, sigh.
8 The joyful sound of the tabour ceaseth ;
The noise of exultation is no more ;
The joyful sound of the harp ceaseth :
9 With songs they shall no more drink wine ;
The palm-wine shall be bitter to them that drink it,
10 The city is broken down ; it is desolate :
Every house is obstructed, so that no one can enter.
11 There is a cry in the streets for wine ;
All gladness is passed away ;
The joy of the whole land is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city ;
And with a great tumult the gate is battered down.
13 Yea thus shall it be in the very centre of the laud, in
the midst of the people ;
As the shaking of the olive ; as the gleaning, when the
vintage is finished.
14 But these shall lift up their voice, they shall sing;
The waters shall resound with the exaltation of Jeho-
vah.
15 Wherefore in the distant coasts, glorify ye Jehovah ;
In the distant coasts of the sea, the name of Jehovah,
the God of Israel.
16 From the uttermost part of the land, we have heard
songs. Glory to the righteous !
But I said, Alas, my wretchedness, ray wretchedness !
Wo is me ! the plunderers plunder ;
Yea the plunderers still continue their cruel depreda
tions.
17 The terror, the pit, and the snare.
Are upon thee, O inhabitant of the land :
IS And it shall be, that whoso fieeth from the terror,
He shall fall into the pit ;
And whoso escapeth from the pit,
44 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXIV.
He shall be taken in the snare :
For the flood-gates from on liigh are opened ;
And the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 Tlie land is grievously shaken ;
The land is utterly shattered to pieces ;
The land is violently shaken out of its place ;
20 Tile land reclelh to and fro like a drunkard ;
And nioveth tliis way and that, Uke a lodge for a night :
For hfr iniquity lietli heavy upon her ;
And she shall fall, and rise no more.
21 And it siiail come to pass in tliat day,
Jehovah shall summon on high the host that is on high :
And on earth the kings of the earth :
And they shall be gathered together, as in a bundle for
the pit ;
^2 And sliall be closely imprisoned in the prison :
And after jnany days, account shall be taken of them.
23 And the moon shall be confounded, and the sun shall
be ashamed ;
For Jkhovah God of Hosts shall reign
On Mount Sion, and in Jerusalem ;
And before his ancients sliall he be glorified.
CHAP XXV.
1 O Jehovah, thou art my God :
I will exalt thee ; I will praise thy name :
For thou hast eflected wonderful things ;
Counsels of old time, promises immutably true.
2 For thou hast made the city an heap ;
The strongly fortified citadel a ruin :
The palace of the proud ones, that it should be no more
a city ;
That it never should be built up again,
3 Therefore shall the fierce people glorify thee ;
The city of the formidable nations shall fear thee ;
4 For thou hast been a defence to the poor ;
A defence to the needy in his distress :
A refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat ;
When the blast of the formidable rages like a winter
storm.
5 As the heat in a parched land, the tumult of the proud
shalt thou bring low ;
CHAP. XXV. ISAIAH. 45
As the heat by a thick cloud, the triumph of the formi-
dable shall be humbled.
6 And Jehovah God of Hosts shall make,
For all the peoples, in this mountain,
A feast of delicacies, a feast of old wines :
Of delicacies exquisitely rich, of old wines perfectly re-
fined.
7 And on this mountain shall he destroy
The covering, that covered the face of all the peoples;
And the vail, that was spread over all the nations.
8 He shall utterly destroy death forever ;
And the Lord Jehovah shall wipe away the tear from ofif
all faces ;
And the reproach of his people shall he remove from
off the whole earth :
For Jehovah hath spoken it.
9 In that day shall they say :
Behold, this is our God ;
We have trusted in him, and he hath saved us :
This is Jehovah ; we have trusted in him ;
We will rejoice, and triumpii, in his salvation.
10 For the hand of Jehovah shall give rest upon this
mountain ;
And Moab shall be threshed in his place,
As the straw is threshed under the wheels of the car.
11 And he shall stretch out his hands in the midst thereof.
As he, that sinkeih, stretcheth out his hands to swim :
But God shall bring down his pride with the sudden gripe
of his hands.
12 And the bulwark of thy high walls shall he lay low :
He shall bring them down to the ground ; he shall lay
them in the dust.
chap. XXVI.
1 In that day shall this song be sung :
In the land of Judah we have a strong city ;
Salvation shall he establish for walls and bulwarks.
2 Open ye the gates, and let the righteous nation enter
3 Constant in the truth, stayed in m'ind :
Thou shall preserve them in perpetual peace,
Because they have trusted in thee.
46 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXVI.
4 Trust ye in Jehovah forever;
For in Jehovah is never-failinj]^ protection.
5 For he hatii humbled those, that dwell on high ;
The lofty city, he h:ith broiigi)t her down ;
He hath brought her down to the ground :
lie hath levelled her with the dust.
G The foot shall trample upon her ;
The feet of the poor, the steps of tlie need)^
7 The way of the righteous is perfectly straight ;
Thou most exactly loveliest the path of the righteous.
8 Even in the way of thy laws, O Jehovah,
We have placed our confidence in thy name ;
And in the remembrance of ihce is the desire of our soul.
9 With my soul have 1 desired thee in the night ;
Yea with my inmost spirit in the morn have I sought
thee.
For when thy judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 Though mercy be shewn to the wicked, yet will he not
learn righteousness :
In the very land of rectitude he will deal perversely;
And will not regard the majesty of Jehovah.
11 Jehovah, thy hand is lifted np, yet will they not see :
But they shfdl see, with confusion, thy zeal for thy
people ;
Yea the fire shall burn np thine adversaries.
12 Jehovah, thou wilt ordain for us peace :
For even all our mighty deeds thou hast performed for
us.
13 O Jehovah, our God !
Other lords, exclusive of thee, have had dominion over
us :
Thee only, and thy name, henceforth will we celebrate.
14 They arc dead, they shall not live ;
The}* are deceased tyrants, they shall not rise.
Therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them ;
And all memorial of them ihou hast abolished.
15 Thou liast added to the nation, O JEnovAii ;
Thou hast added to the nation ; thou art glorified :
Thou hast extended far all (he borders of the land.
10 O J^iiovAii, in allliction have we sought (hee;
Wc have poured out humble supplication, when thy
chastisement was upon us.
CHAP. XXVI. ISAIAH. 47
17 As a woman, that hath conceived, when her dehvery
approachclh,
Is in anguish, ciieth out nloud, in her travail;
Thus have we been before ihee, O Jehovah.
18 We have conceived ; we have L^een in anguish ; we have,
as it were, brought forth wind :
Salvation is not wrought in the land ;
Neither are the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19 Thy dead shall live ; my deceased, they shall rise :
Awake, and sing, ye that dwell in the dust !
For thy dew is as the dew of the dawn ;
But the earth shall cast forth, as an abortion, the de-
ceased tyrants.
20 Come, O my people ; retire into thy secret apart-
ments ;
And shut thy door after thee :
Hide thyself for a little while, for a moment ;
Until the indignation shall have passed away.
21 For behold, Jehovah issueth forth from his place ;
To punish for his iniquity the inhabitant of the earth :
And the earth shall disclose the blood that is upon her ;
And shall no longer cover her slain.
chap. XXVII.
1 In that day shall Jehovah punish with his sword ;
His well-tempered, and great, and strong sword ;
Leviathan t.lie rigid serpent.
And Leviathan the winding serpent :
And shall slay the monster, th.at is in the sea.
2 In that day,
To the beloved Vineyard, sing )'e a responsive song,
o J. It is I, Jehovah, that preserve her :
I will Vvater her every moment;
1 will take care of her by night ;
And by da}^ I will keep guard over her.
4 y. I have no Vv'all for my defence :
0 that I had a fence of the thorn and brier !
J. Against them should 1 march hi battle,
1 should burn them up together.
48 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXVII.
5 All ! let her ratlier take hold of my protection.
V. Let him make peace with me !
Peace let him malvc with me !
6 J. They that com.e from the root of Jacob shall flourish,
L-rael shall Inid forth ;
And they shall till the face of the world with fruit.
7 Hath he smitten him, as he smiteth those that smote
him '?
And like the slaughter of those, that slew him, is he
slain ?
8 In just measure, when thou iiiflictest the stroke, wilt
thou debate with her ;
With due deliberation, even in the rough tempest, in
the day of the east wind.
9 Wherefore on this condition shall the iniquity of Jacob
be expiated ;
And so shall he reap the whole benefit of the removal
of his sin ;
If he shall render all the stones of the altar,
Like the limestones scattered abroad ;
And if the groves and the images rise no more.
10 But the strongly fortified city shall be desolate ;
An habitation forsaken, and deserted as a wilderness.
There shall the bullock feed, and there shall he lie. down ;
And he shall browse on the tender shoots thereof.
11 When her boughs are withered, they shall be broken :
Women shall come, and set them on a blaze.
Surely it is a people void of understanding :
Wherefore he, that made him, shall not have pity on
him ;
And he, that formed him, shall shew him no favour.
12 And it shall come to pass in that day,
Jehovah shall make a gathering of his fruit, from the
flood of the river,
To the stream of I'jgypt ;
And ye shall be gleaned up.
One by one, O ye sons of Israel.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day,
The great trumpet shall be sounded ;
And those shall come, who were perishing in the land
of Assyria ;
And who were dispersed in the land of Egypt :
CHAP. XXVII. ISAIAH. 49
And they shall bow themselves down before Jehovah,
In the holy mountain, in Jerusalem.
CHAP. XXVIII. .
1 Wo to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
And to the fading flower of their glorious beauty !
To those, that are at the head of the rich valley, that are
stupified with wine !
2 Behold the mighty one, the exceedingly strong one !
Like a storm of hail, like a destructive tempest ;*
Like a rapid flood of mighty waters pouring down ;
He shall dash them to the ground with his hand.
• 3 They shall be trodden under foot.
The proud crowns of the drunkards of Ephraim :
4 And the fading flower of their glorious beauty.
Which is at the head of the lich valley,
Shall be as the early fruit before the summer ;
Yv'hich whoso seeth, he plucketh it immediately ;
And it is no sooner in his hand, than he swalloweth it.
5 In that day shall Jehovah God of Hosts become a
beauteous crown,
And a glorious diadem, to the remnant of his people :
6 And a spirit of judgment, to them that sit in judgment ;
And strength to them, that repell the war to the gate
[of the enemy].
7 But even these have erred tlirough wine, and through
strong drink they have reeled ;
The priest and the prophet have erred tlirough strong
drink ;
They are overwhelmed with wine ; they have reeled
through strong diink :
They have erred in vision, they have stumbled in judg-
ment.
S For all their tables are full of vomit ;
Of filthiness, so that no place is free.
9 " Whom [say they] would he teach knowledge : and to
" whom would he imj)art instruction ?
" To such as are weaned from the milk, as are kept back
" from the breast ?
10 " For it is command upon coramand ; command upon
" command ;
10
50 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXVIIL
" Line upon line ; line upon line :
" A little here, and a little there."
11 Yea verily, with a stammering lip, and a strange tongue,
He shall speak unto this people.
12 For when he said unto them :
This is the true rest ; give ye rest unto the weary ;
And this is the refreshment ; they would not hear.
13 Therefore shall the word of Jehovah be indeed unto
them,
Command upon command, command upon command ;
Line upon line, line upon line ;
A little here, and a little there :
That they may go on, and fall backward ;
And be broken, and snared, and caught.
14 Wherefore hear ye the word of Jehovah, ye scoffers ;
Ye of this people in Jerusalem, who utter sententious
speeches :
15 "Who say, w^e have entered into a covenant with death ;
And with the grave we have made a treaty :
The overllowing plague, when it passeth through, shall
not reach us :
For we have made falsehood our refuge ;
And under deceit we have hidden ourselves.
16 Wherefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah :
Behokl, I lay in Sion for a foundation a stone, an ap-
proved stone ;
A corner-stone, precious, immoveably fixed :
He, that trusteth in him, sball not be confounded.
17 And I will mete out judgment by the rule;
And strict justice, by the plummet :
And the hail shall sweep away the refuge of falsehood ;
And the hiding-place the whalers shall overwhelm.
18 And your covenant with death shall be broken ;
And your treaty with the grave shall not stand :
When the overflowing plague passeth through,
By it shall ye be beaten down.
19 As soon as it passeth through, shall it seize you ;
Yea morning after morning shall it pass through, by
day and by niglit ;
And even tbe report alone shall cause terror.
20 For the bed is too short, for one to stretch himself out
at lcn<j[th ;
CHAP. XXVIII. ISAIAH. 51
And the coveiing is too narrow, for one to gather him-
self up under it,
21 For as in Mount Peratsim, Jehovah will arise ;
As in the valley of Gibeon, shall he be moved with an-
ger;
That he may execute his work, his strange work ;
And effect his operation, his unusual operation.
22 And now, give yourselves up to scoffing no more,
Lest your chastisements become more severe :
For a full and decisive decree have I heard.
From the Lord Jehovah God of Hosts, on the whole
land.
23 Listen ye, and hear my voice ;
Attend, and hearken unto my words.
24 Doth the husbandman plough every day that he may
sow.
Opening, and breaking the clods of his field ?
25 When he hath made even the face thereof.
Doth not he then scatter ' the dill, and cast abroad the
cummin ;
And sow the wheat in due measure ;
And the barley, and the rye, hath its appointed limit ?
26 For his God rightly instructeth him ; he furnisheth him
with knowledge.
27 The dill is not beaten out with the corn-drag ;
Nor is the wheel of the wain made to turn upon the
cummin :
But the dill is beaten out with the staff;
28 And the cummin with the flail : but the bread-corn with
the threshing-wain.
But not for ever will he continue thus to thresh it ;
Nor to vex it with the wheel of his wain ;
Nor to bruise it with the hoofs of his cattle.
29 This also proceedeth from Jehovah God of Hosts :
He sheweth himself wonderful in counsel, great in ope-
ration.
52 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXIX.
CHAP. XXIX.
' 1 Wo to Ariel, to Ariel, the city which David be-
sieged !
Add year to year ; let the feasts go round in their course.
2 Yet will I bring distress upon Ariel ;
And there shall be continual mourning and sorrow :
And it shall be unto me as the hearth of the great altar.
3 And I will encamp against thee, like David ;
And I will lay siege against thee with a mound ;
And I will erect towers against thee.
4 And thou shalt be brought low ; thou shalt speak as from
beneath the earth :
And from out of the dust thou shalt utter a feeble
speech ;
And thy voice shall come out of the ground, like that
of a necromancer :
And thy words from out of the dust shall give a small
shrill sound.
5 But the multitude of the proud shall be like the small
dust ;
And like the flitting chaff the multitude of the terrible:
Yea, the effect shall be momentary, in an instant.
6 From Jehovah God of Hosts there shall be a sudden
visitation,
With thunder, and earthquake, and a mighty voice ;
With storm, and tempest, and fiame of devouring fire.
7 And like as a dream, a vision of the night,
So shall it be with the multitude of all the nations, that
fight against Ariel ;
And all their armies, and their towers, and those that
distress her.
8 As when a hungry man drcameth ; and lo ! he seen""^*h
to eat ;
But he awaketh, and his appetite is still unsatisfied ;
And as a thirsty mandreameth ; and lo ! heseemeth to
drink ;
But he awaketh, and he is still faint, and his appetite
still craving :
So shall it be with the multitude of all the nations.
Which have set themselves in array against Mount
Sion.
CHAP. XXIX. ISAIAH. 53
9 They are struck with amazement, they stand aston-
ished ;
They stare with a look of stupid surprise :
They are drunkeUj but not with wine ;
They stagger, but not with strong drink.
10 For Jehovah hatii poured upon you a spirit of pro-
found sleep ;
And hath closed up your eyes ;
The prophets, and the rulers ; the seers hath he bhnd-
folded.
11 So that all the vision is to you, as the words of a book
sealed up ;
Which if one delivers to a man, that knoweth letters,
Saying, Read this, J pray thee ;
He answereth, I cannot read it ; for it is sealed up :
12 Or should the book be given to one, that knoweth not
letters,
Saying, Read this, I pray thee ;
He answereth, 1 know not letters.
13 Wherefore Jehovah hath said :
Forasmuch as this people draweth near with their mouth,
And honoureth me with their lips,
While their heart is far from me ;
And vain is their fear of me.
Teaching the commandments of men :
14 Therefore behold, I will again deal with this people,
In a manner so wonderful and astonishing ;
That the wisdom of the wise shall perish.
And the prudence of the prudent shall disappear.
15 Wo unto them, that are too deep for Jehovah in
forming secret designs ;
Whose deeds are in the dark ; and who say,
Who is there, that seeth us ; and who shall know us ?
16 Perverse as ye are ! shall the potter be esteemed as the
clay '?
Shall the v/ork say of the workman. He hath not made
me?
And shall the thing formed say of the former of it, He
hath no understanding ?
17 Shall it not be but a very short spnxe,
Ere Lebanon become like Carmel,
And Carmel appear like a desert ?
10*
54 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXIX.
IS Then shall the deaf hear the words of the book ;
And the e5-es of the bUnd, covered before with clouds
and darkness, shall see.
19 The meek shall increase their joy in Jehovah ;
And the needy shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the terrible one failcth, the scofTer is no more ;
And all that were vigilant in iniijuity are utterly cut off;
21 Who bewildered the poor man in speaking ;
And laid snares for him, that pleaded in the gate ;
And with falsehood subverted the righteous.
22 Therefore thus saith Jehovah the God of the house
of Jacob,
He who redeemed Abraham :
Jacob shall no more be ashamed ;
His face shall no more be covered with confusion :
23 For when his children shitll see the work of m}' hands,
Among themselves shall they sanctify my name :
They shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
And tremble before the God of Israel.
24 Those, tliat were led away with the spirit of error, shall
gain knowledge ;
And the malignant shall attend to instruction.
CHAP. XXX.
1 Wo unto the rebellious children, saith Jehovah ;
Who form counsels, but not from me ;
Who ratify covenants, but not by my spirit :
That they may add sin to sin.
2 Y» ho set forv\'ard to go down to Egypt ;
But have not inquired at my mouth :
To strengthen themselves with the strength of Pharaoh :
And to trust in the shadow of Egypt.
3 But the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame ;
And your trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
4 Their princes were at Tsoan ;
And their anibassadors arrived at Hanes :
5 They were all ashamed of a people, that profited them
not ;
Who were of no help, and of no profit ;
But proved even a shame, and a reproach unto them.
6 The burthen of the beasts travelling southward,
Tiirougli a land of distress and difliculty :
Whence come forth the lioness, and the fierce lion ;
The viper, and the flying fiery serpent :
CHAP. XXX. ISAIAH. 55
They carry on the shoulder of the young cattle their
wealth ;
And on the bunch of the camel their treasures :
To a people, that will not profit them.
7 For Egypt is a mere vapour ; in vain shall they help : ^
Wherefore^have I called^her, Rahab the inactive. >
8 Go now, write it before them on a tablet ;
And record it in letters upon a book :
That it may be for future times ;
For a testimony for ever.
9 For this is a rebellious people, lying children ;
Children who choose not to hear the law of Jehovah :
10 Who say to the seers, See not ;
And to the prophets, Prophesy not right things :
Speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits.
11 Turn aside from the way ; decline from the straight path ;
Remove from our sight the Holy One of Israel.
12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel :
Because ye have rejected this word ;
And have trusted in obliquitj'', and perversion ;
And have leaned entirely upon it :
13 Therefore shall this offence be unto you,
Like a breach threatening ruin ; a swelling in a high
wall ;
Whose destruction cometh suddenly, in an instant.
14 It shall be broken, as when one breaketh a potter's
vessel :
He dasheth it to pieces, and spareth it not ;
So that there shall not be found a sherd among its frag-
ments.
To take up fire from the hearth.
Or to dip up water from the cistern.
15 Verily thus saith the Lord Jehovah, the Holy one of
Israel :
By turning from your ways, and by abiding quiet, ye
shall be saved ;
In silence, and in pious confidence, shall be your strength :
But ye would not hearken.
16 And ye said : Nay, but on horses will we flee ;
Therefore shall ye be put to flight :
And on swift coursers will we ride ;
Therefore shall they be swift, that pursue you.
56 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXX.
17 One tlionsand, iit the rebuke of one ;
At the rebuke of five, ten thousand of you shall flee :
Till ye be left as a standard on the summit of a moun-
tain ;
And as a beacon on a high hill.
18 Yet for this shall Jehovah wait to shew favour unto you ;
Even for this shall he expect in silence, that he may
have mercy upon you :
(For Jehovah is a God of judgment;
Blessed are all they that trust in him) :
19 When a holy people shall dwell in Sion ;
When in Jerusaleni thou shalt implore him with weep-
ing :
At the voice of thy cry he shall be abundantly gracious
unto thee ;
No sooner shall he hear, than he shall answer thee.
20 Though Jehovah hath given you bread of distress, and
water of affliction ;
Yet the Umelyj;ain shall no more be restrained ;
But thine eyes shall behold the tiinely rain.
21 And thine ears shall hear the word prompting thee be-
hind :
Saying, This is the way ; walk ye in it ;
Turn not aside, to the right, or to the left.
22 And ye shall treat as defiled the covering of your idols
of silver ;
And the clothing of your molten images of gold :
Thou shall. cast them away like a polluted garment;
Thou shalt sa}^ unto them, Be gone from me.
23 And he shall give rain for thy seed,
AVith wliich thou shalt sow the ground ;
And bread of the produce of the ground :
And it shall be abundant and plenteous.
Then shall thy cattle feed in large pasture ;
24 And the oxen, and the young asses, that till tiie ground,
{ Shall eat ^^^Jermel^tcdJ)[jLaslin,
y. Winnowed with the van ajid the sieve.
25 And on every lofty mountain,
And on every high liill,
'/ Shall be disjiartin^ rills, and streams of water,
> In the day of the great slaughter, when the^i^ity fall.
CHAP. XXX. ISAIAH. 57
26 And tlie light of the moon shall be as the light of the me- v
rid i an sun ;
An^the light of the meridian sun shall be seven-fold :
In the day when Jehovah shall bind up the breach of
his people ;
And shall heal the wound, which his stroke hath in-
flicted.
27 Lo ! the name of Jehovah cometh from afar ;
His wrath biirneth, and the flame rageth violently :
His lips are filled with indignation ;
And his tongue is as a consuming fire.
28 His sjm-it is like a torrent overflowing ; ^
It shalFreach to the middle of the neck :
He cometh to toss the nations with the van of perdition ; ^
And there shalTbe a bridle, lo lead tEem astray, in the
jaws of the people.
29 Ye shall utter a song, as in the night when the feast is
solemnly proclaimed ;
With joy of heart, as when one marcheth to the sound
of the pipe ;
To go to the mountain of Jehovah, to the rock of Israel.
30 And Jehovah shall cause his glorious voice to be
heard,
And the lighting down of his arm to be seen ;
With wrath indi^naiit, and a flame of consuming fire ;
With a~'violent storm, and rushing showers, and hail-
stones.
31 By the voice of Jehovah the Assyrian shall be beaten
down ;
He, that was ready to smite with his staff. "^
32 And it shall be, that wherever shall pass the rod of cor- ~>
rection,
WhicliTEHovAH shall lay heavily upon him;
It shall be accompanied with tabrets and harps ;
And with fierce battles shall he fight against them.
33 For Tophet is ordained of old ;
Even the same for the king is prepared :
He hath made it deep ; he hath made it large ;
> A fiery pyre, and abundance of fuel ;
And the breath of Jehovah, like a stream of sulphur,
shall kindle it.
58 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXT.
CHAP. XXXI,
1 Wo unto them, that go down to Egypt for help ;
Who trust in horses for their support :
Wlio confide in chariots, hecause they are many ;
And in horsemen, because they are very strong:
But look not unto the Holy One of Israel ;
And of Jehovah they ask not counsel.
2 But he in his wisdom will bring evil upon them ;
And he will not set aside his word :
But will rise against the house of the wicked ;
And against the helpers of those that work iniquity.
3 For the Egyptians are man, and not God ;
And their horses are flesh, and not spirit :
And Jehovah shall stretch forth his hand;
And the helper shall fall, and the holpen shall be over-
thrown ;
And together shall all of them be destroyed.
4 For thus hath Jehovah said unto me:
Like as the lion growlelh,
Even the young lion, over his prey ;
Though the whole company of shepherds be called to-
getiier against him :
At their voice he will not be terrified,
Nor at their tumult will he be humbled:
So shall Jehovah God of Hosts descend to fight
For Mount Sion, and for his own hill.
5 As the mother birds, hovering over their young,
So shall Jehovah God of Hosts protect Jerusalem ;
Protecting, and delivering ; leaping forward, and rescu-
ing her.
C Return unto hini, from whom ye have so deeply f
gaged in revolt,
O ye sons of Israel !
7 Verily in that day shall they cast away with contempt,
Every man his idols of silver, and his idols of gold ;
The sin, which their own hands liave made.
S And the A ssyrian shall fall by a sword not of man;
Yea a sword not of mortal shall devour him.
And he shall betake himself to flight from the face of
the sword ;
And the courage of his chosen men shall fail.
CHAP. iXil. ISAIAn. 59
9 And through terror he shall pass beyond his strong-
hold ;
And his princes shall be struck with consternation at his
flight.
Thus saith Jehovah, who hath his fire in Sion,
And his furnace in Jerusalem.
chap. XXXII.
1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness ;
And princes shall rule with equity :
2 And the man shall be as a covert from the storm, as a
refuge from the flood ;
As canals of waters in a dry place ;
As the shadow of a great rock in a land fainting with
heat :
3 And him the eyes of those, that see, sl^all regard ;
And the ears of those, that hear, shall hearken.
4 Even the heart of the rash shall consider, and acquire
knowledge ;
And the stammering tongue shall speak readily and
plainly.
5 The fool shall no longer be called honourable ;
And the niggard shall no more be called liberal :
6 For the fool will still utter folly ;
And his heart will devise iniquity :
Ppactising hypocris}^, and speaking w^'ongfully against
Jehovah ;
To exhaust the soul of the hungry,
And to deprive the thirsty of drink.
7 As for the niggard, his instruments are evil :
He plotteth mischievous devices ;
To entangle the humble with lying words ;
And to defeat the assertions of the poor in judgment.
8 But the generous will devise generous things ;
And he by his generous purposes shall be established.
9 O YE w^omen, that sit at ease, arise, hear my voice !
O ye daughters, that dwell in security, give ear unto my
speech !
10 Years upon years shall ye be disquieted, O ye careless
women :
For the vintage hath failed, the gathering of the fruits
shall not come.
60 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXII.
11 Tremble, O ye that are at ease ; be ye disquieted, O ye
careless ones !
Strip ye, make ye bare ; and gird ye sackcloth
12 Upon your loins, upon your breasts ;
INIourn ye for the pleasant field, for the fruitful vine.
13 Over the land of my people the thorn and the brier
shall come up ;
Yea, over all the joyous houses, over the exulting city.
14 For the palace is deserted, the populous city is left deso-
late ;
Ophel and the watch-tower shall for a long time be a
den,
A joy of wild asses, a pasture for the flocks :
15 Till the spirit from on high be poured out upon us ;
And the wilderness become a fruitful field ;
And the fruitful field be esteemed a forest :
16 And judgment shall dwell in the wilderness;
And in the fruitful field shall reside righteousness.
17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace ;
And the effect of righteousness perpetual quiet and secu-
rity.
18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceful mansion,
And in habitations secure,
And in resting places undisturbed.
19 But the hail shall fall, and the forest be brought down ;
And the city shall be laid level with the plain.
20 Blessed are ye, who sow your seed in every well-watered
place ;
Who send forth the foot of the ox and the ass.
CHAP. XXXIII.
1 Wo unto thee, thou spoiler, who hast not been spoiled
thyself;
And thou plunderer, who hast not been plundered :
When thou hast ceased to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled ;
When thou art weary of plundering, they shall plunder
thee.
2 O Jkhovah, have mercy on us ; wc have trusted in
thee ;
Be thou our strength every morning ;
Even our salvation in the time of distress.
CHAP. XXXIII. ISAIAH. 61
3 From thy terrible voice the peoples fled ;
When thou didst raise thyself up, the nations were dis-
persed.
4 But your spoil shall be gathered, as the locust gathereth ;
As the cateri)illar runneth to and fro, so shall they run,
and seize it.
5 Jehovah is exalted ; yea, he dwelleth on high :
He hath filled Sion with judgment and justice.
6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy
times,
The possession of continued salvation ;
The fear of Jehovah, this shall be thy treasure.
7 Behold the mighty men raise a grievous cry ;
The messengers of peace weep bitterly.
.8 The highways are desolate ; the traveller ceaseth :
He hath broken the covenant ; he hath rejected the of-
fered cities ;
Of men he maketh no account.
9 The land mourneth, it languisheth ;
Libanus is put to shame, it withereth :
Sharon is become like a desert ;
And Bashan and Carmel are stripped of their beauty.
10 Now will I arise, saith Jehovah ;
Now will I lift myself up on high ; now will I be exalted.
11 Ye shall conceive chaff; ye shall bring forth stubble ;
And my spirit like fire shall consume you.
12 And peoples shall be burned, as the hme is burned ;
As the thorns are cut up, and consumed in the fire.
13 Hear, O ye that are afar off, my doings ;
And acknowledge, O ye that are near, my power.
14 The sinners in Sion are struck with dread ;
Terror hath seized the hypocrites :
Who among us can abide this consuming fire ?
Who among us can abide these continued burnings?
15 He who walketh in perfect righteousness, and speaketh
right things :
Who detesteth the lucre of oppression ;
Who shaketh his hands from bribery ;
Who stoppeth his ears to the proposal of bloodshed ;
62 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXIII.
Who shutteth his eyes against the appearance of evil :
16 His dwelling shall be in the high places ;
The strongholds of the rocks shall be his lofty fortress :
His bread shall be duly furnished ; his waters shall not
fail.
17 Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty ;
They shall see thine own land far extended.
18 Thine heart shall reflect on the past terror :
Where is now the accomptant ? where the weigher of
tribute 1
Where is he, that numbered the towers ?
19 Thou shalt see no more that barbarous people ;
The people of a deep speech, which thou couldst not
hear ;
And of a stammering tongue, which thou couldst not
understand.
20 Thou shalt see Sion, the city of our solemn feasts ;
Thine eyes shall behold Jerusalem,
The quiet habitation, the tabernacle unshaken :
Whose stakes shall not be plucked up for ever.
And of whose cords none shall be broken.
21 But the glorious name of Jehovah shall be unto us,
A place of confluent streams, of broad rivers ;
Wliich no oared ship shall pass,
Neither shall any mighty vessel go through.
22 For Jehovah is our judge; Jehovah is our lawgiver ;
Jehovah is our king : he shall save us.
23 Thy sails are loose ; they cannot make them fast :
Thy mast is not firm ; they cannot spread the ejisign.
Then shall a copious spoil be divided ;
Even the lame shall seize the prey.
24 Neither shall the inhabitant say, I am disabled with
sickness :
The people, that dwolleth therein, is freed from the
punishment of their inicjuity.
CHAP. XXXIV.
1 Draw near, 0 ye nations, and hearken
And attend unto me, O ye peoples !
Let the earth hear, and the fulness thereof;
Tlje world, and all that spring from it.
CHAP. XXXIV. ISAIAH. 63
2 For the wrath of Jehovah is kindled against all the
nations ;
And his anger against all the orders thereof :
He hath devoted them ; he hath given them up to
slaughter.
3 And their slain shall be cast out ;
And from their carcasses their stink shall ascend ;
And the mountains shall melt down with their blood.
4 And all the host of heaven shall waste away ;
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll :
And all their host shall wither ;
As the withered leaf falleth from the vine,
And as the blighted fruit from (he fig-tree.
5 For my sword is made bare in the heavens :
Behold, on Edom it shall descend ;
And on the people justly by me devoted to destruction.
6 The sword of Jehovah is glutted with blood ;
It is pampered with fat :
With the blood of lambs, and of goats ;
With the fat of the reins of rams :
For Jehovah celebrateth a sacrifice in Botsrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild goats shall fall down with them ;
And the bullocks, together with the bulls :
And their own land shall be drunken with their blood.
And their dust shall be enriched with fat.
8 For it is the day of vengeance to Jehovah ;
The year of recompense to the defender of the cause of
Sion.
9 And her torrents shall be turned into pitch,
And her dust into sulphur ;
And her whole land shall become burning pitch :
10 By night or by day it shall not be extinguished
For ever shall her smoke ascend :
From generation to generation she shall lie desert;
To everlasting ages no one shall pass through her ;
11 But the pelican and the porcupine shall inherit her ;
And the owl and the raven shall inhabit there :
And he shall stretch over her the line of devastation.
And the plummet of emptiness over her scorched plains.
12 No more shall they boast the renown of the kingdom ;
And all her princes shall utterly fail.
64 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXIV.
13 And in her palaces shall spring up thorns;
The nettle and the bramble, in her fortresses :
And she shall become an habitation for dragons,
A court for the daughters of the ostrich.
14 And the jackals and the mountain-cats shall meet one
another ;
And the satyr shall call to his fellow :
Tliere also the screech-owl shall pitch ;
And shall find for herself a place of rest.
15 There shall tlie night-raven make her nest, and lay her
eggs ;
And she shall hatch them, and gather her young under
her shadow :
There also shall the vultures be gathered together ;
Every one of them shall join her niate.
IG Consult ye the book of Jehovah, and read :
Not one of these shall be missed ;
Not a female shall lack her mate :
For the mouth of Jehovah hath given the command ;
And his spirit itself hath gathered them.
17 And he hath cast the lot for them ;
And his hand hath meted out their portion by the line :
They shall possess the land for a perpetual inheritance ;
From generation to generation shall they dwell therein.
chap. XXXV.
1 The desert, and the waste, shall be glad ;
And the wilderness shall rejoice, and llourish :
2 Like the rose shall it beautifully flourish ;
And the well-watered |)lain of Jordan shall also rejoice :
The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it,
The beauty of Carmel and of Sharon :
These shall behold the glory of Jehovah,
Tiic majesty of our God.
3 Strengthen ye the feeble hands.
And confirm ye the tottering knees.
4 Say ye to the faint-hearted : Be ye strong ;
Fear ye not ; behold your CJod !
Vengeance will come ; the retribution of God :
He himself will come, and will deliver you.
.5 Then shall be unclosed the eyes of the blind ;
And the ears of the deaf shall be opened :
G Then shall the lame bound like the hart,
And the tongue of the dumb shall sinii: :
CHAP. XXXV. ISAIAH. 65
For in the wilderness shall burst forth waters,
And torrents in the desert :
7 And the glowing sand shall become a pool.
And the Thirsty soil bubbling springs :
And in the haunt of dragons shall spring forth
The grass, with the reed, and the bulrush.
8 And a highway shall be there ;
And it shall be called the way of holiness :
No unclean person shall pass through it :
But He himself shall be with them, walking in the way.
And the foolish shall not err therein.
9 No lion sliall be there ;
Nor shall the tyrant of the beasts come up thither :
Neither shall he be found there ;
But the redeemed shall walk in it.
10 Yea the ransomed of Jehovah shall return :
They shall come to Sion with triumph ;
And perpetual gladness shall crown their heads.
Joy and gladness shall they obtain ;
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
CHAP. XXXVI.
1 In the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Senacherib
king of Assyria came up against all the fenced cities of
2 Judah, and took them. And the king of Assyria sent
Rabshakeh, from Lachish to Jerusalem, to the king
Hezekiah, Avith a great body of forces : and he presented
himself at the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway
3 that leads to the fuller's field. Then came out unto him.
Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the house-
hold, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph,
4 the recorder. And Rabshakeh said unto them : Say
ye to Hezekiah ; Thus saith the great king, the king of
Assyria : What is this ground of confidence, in which
5 thou confidest? Tbou hast said, (but they are vain
words), I have counsel and strength sufiicient for the
war. Now in whom dost thou confide, that thou re-
6 bellest against me ? Thou certainly confidest in the
support of this broken reed, in Egypt; on which if a
man lean, it will pierce his hand, and go through it:
such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that confide in
T him. But if ye say to me, We confide in Jehovah cue
11*
66 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXVI,
God ; is it not He, -whose high places and whose altars
Hezekiah hath removed ; and hath commanded Judah
8 and Jerusalem to worship only before this altar ? Enter
now, I pray thee, into an engagement with my lord the
king of Assyria ; and I will give thee two thousand
horses, on condition, that thou canst on thy part provide
9 riders for them. How then wilt thou turn buck any one
commander, among the least of my lord's servants, ad-
vancing against thee? And trustest thou, that Egypt
10 will supply thee with chariots and with horsemen ? And
am I now come up without Jehovah against this land
to destroy it '? Jehovah hath said unto me, Go thou up
against this land, and destroy it.
11 Then said Eliakira, and Shebna, and Joah, unto
Rabshakeh : Speak, we beseech thee, to thy servants in
the Syrian language, for we understand it ; and speak
not to us in the Jewish language, in the hearing of the
12 people, who are upon the wall. And Rabshakeh said,
Hath my lord sent me to thy lord and to thee, to speak
these words? and not to the men, that sit on the w^all,
destined to eat their own dung, and drink their own
13 uiine, together with you ? Then Rabshakeh stood, and
cried with a loud voice in the Jewish language, and
said : Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of
14 Assyria. Thus saith the king : Let not Hezekiah de-
15 ceive you ; for he will not be able to deliver you. And
let not Hezekiah persuade you to trust in Jehovah ;
saying, Jehovah will certainly deliver us ; this city
shall not be given up into the hand of the king of
16 Assyria. Hearken not unto Hezekiah ; for thus saith
the king of Assyria ; Make peace with me, and come
out unto me. And eat ye every one of his own vine,
and every one of his own fig-tree ; and drink ye every
17 one tlie waters of his own cistern : until I come and
take you to a land like your own land ; a land of corn
18 and of wine, a land of bread and of vineyards. Nor let
Hezekiah seduce you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us.
Have the gods of the nations delivered each his own
19 land from the hand of the king of Assyria ? Where are
the gods of Ihimath, and of Arphad ? where are the
gods of Sc[)harvaim ? have they delivered Samaria out
20 of my hand ? Who are there among all the gods of
CHAP. XXXVI. ISAIAH. 67
these lands, that have dehvered their own lands out of
my hand ; that Jehovah should deUver out of my hand
21 Jerusalem? But the people held their peace, and an-
swered him not a word : for the king's command was,
Answer him not.
22 Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was
over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah,
the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah, with their
clothes rent ; and reported unto him the words of Rab-
shakeh.
CHAP. XXXVII.
1 And when king Hezekiah heard it, he rent his clothes,
and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the
2 house of Jehovah. And he sent Eliakim, who was
over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the
elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah,
3 the son of Amots, the prophet. And they said unto
him : Thus saith Hezekiah; This day is a day of dis-
tress, and of rebuke, and of contumely : for the children
are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring
4 forth. O that Jehovah thy God would hear the words
of Rabshakeh, whom his lord the king of Assyria hath
sent to reproach the hving God ! and that he would
refute the words, which Jehovah thy God hath heard !
And do thou offer up thy prayer for the poor remains
5 of the people. And the servants of king Hezekiah came
6 to Isaiah. And Isaiah said unto them ; Thus shall ye
say to your lord : Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid,
because of the words which thou hast heard, with which
the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
7 Behold, I will infuse a spirit into him ; and he shall
hear a rumour, and return to his own land ; and I will
cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
8 But Rabshakeh returned ; and found the king of
Assyria besieging Libnah : for he had heard, that he
9 had decamped from Lachish. And when Senacherib
had received advice concerning Tirhakah king of Cush,
that he was advancing to give him battle ; he sent mes-
10 sengers again to Hezekiah, saying ; Thus shall ye say
to Hezekiah king of Judah : Let not thy God, in whom
thou confidest, deceive thee ; by assuring thee, that Je-
rusalem shall not be given up into the hand of the king
6S ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXVII.
11 of Assyria. Thou hast certainly heard, what the kings
of Assyria have done to all lands, which they have iit-
12 terly destroyed : and shalt thou he delivered '/ Have the
gods of the nations delivered those, which my fathers
have destroyed ? Gozan, and Haran, and Retseph ; and
13 the sons of Eden, which were in Thelassar 7 Where is
the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the
king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Henah, and of Ivah ?
14 And Hezekiah received the letters from the hand of
the messengers, and read them ; and he went up to the
house of Jehovah : and Hezekiah spread them before
1-5 the presence of Jehovah. And Hezekiah prayed be-
IG fore Jehovah, saying : O Jehovah, God of Hosts, thou
God of Israel, who art seated on the cherubim ! Thou
art the God, thou alone, to all the kingdoms of the
earth ! Thou hast made the heavens, and the earth !
17 Incline, O Jehovah, thine ear, and hear ; open, O Je-
hovah, thine eyes, and see : yea, hear all the words of
Senacherib, which he hath sent to reproach the living
18 God. In truth, O Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have
destroyed all the nations, and their lands ; and have
19 cast their gods into the fire : for they were not gods,
but the work of the hands of man, wood and stone ;
20 therefore they have destroyed them. And now, O Je-
hovah, our God, save us, we beseech thee, from his
hand; that all the kingdoms of the earth may know,
that thou Jehovah art the only God.
21 Then Isaiah the son of Amots sent unto Hezekiah,
saying : Thus sailh Jehovau the God of Israel : Thy
prayer unto me, concerning Senacherib king of Assyria,
22 I have heard. This is the word, which Jehovah hath
spoken concerning him :
The virgin daughter of Sion hath despised thee,
she hath humhed thee to scorn ;
The daughter of Joru^^aiem halh shaken her head be-
hind thee.
23 Whom hast thou reproached, and reviled ; and against
whom hast thou exalted thy voice?
And hast lifted up thine eyes on high? Even against
the Holy One of Israel.
CHAP. XXXVII. ISAIAH. 69
24 By thy messengers hast thou reproached Jehovah,
and said :
By the multitude of my chariots have I ascended
The highth of the mountains, the sides of Lebanon ;
And I will cut down his tallest cedars, his choicest fir-
trees ;
And 1 will penetrate into his extreme retreats, his
richest forests.
25 I have digged, and I have drunk strange waters ;
And I have dried up with the sole of my feet all the
canals of fenced places.
26 Hast thou not heard, of old, that I have disposed it?
And, of ancient times, that I liave formed it ?
Now have 1 brought it to pass, that thou shouldst be
to lay waste
Warlike nations, strong-fenced cities.
27 Therefore were their inhabitants of small strength ;
they were dismayed and confounded :
They were as the grass of the field, and as the green
herb ;
The grass of the house-top ; and as the corn blasted
before it groweth up.
28 But thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy
coming in,
And thy rage against me, I have known.
29 Because thy rage against me, and thy insolence, is
come up into mine ears ;
Therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my
bridle in thy jaws ;
And I will turn thee back by the way in which thou
camest.
30 And this shall be a sign unto thee :
Eat this year that which groweth of itself;
And the second year, that which springeth up of the
same ;
And in the third year sow ye, and reap ;
And plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.
31 And again shall the escaped, the remnant of the house
of Judah,
Strike root downward, and bear fruit upward.
For from Jerusalem shall go forth the remnant ;
And the part escaped from Mount Sion :
The zeal of Jehovah God of Hosts shall eflfect this.
70 ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXVIL
32 Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the king of
Assyria:
He shall not enter into this city ;
Nor shall he shoot an arrow there ;
Nor shall he present a shield before it ;
Nor shall he cast up a mound against it.
33 By the way, in which he came, by the same shall he
return ;
And into this city shall he not come ; saith Jehovah.
34 And I will protect this city to deliver it ;
For mine own sake, and for the sake of David my
servant.
35 And the angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in
the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and
five thousand men : and when the people arose early in
36 the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. Then
Senacherib king of Assyria decamped, and departed, and
37 returned ; and dwelt at Nineveh. And as he was wor-
shipping in the temple of Nisroc his god, Adramclec and
Sharetser, his sons, smote him with the sword : and they
escaped into the land of Armenia ; and Esarhaddon his
son reigned in his stead.
CHAP. XXXVIII.
1 At that time Hezekiah was seized with a mortal sick-
ness : and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amots, came
unto him ; and said unto him : Thus saith Jehovah :
Give orders concerning the affairs of thy family ; for
2 thou must die ; thou shalt no longer live. Then Heze-
kiah turned his face to the wall ; and made his suppli-
3 cation to Jehovah. And he said : I beseech thee, O
Jehovah, remember now, how I have endeavoured to
walk before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart ; and
have done that which is good in thine eyes. And He-
4 zekiah wept, and lamented grievously. Now [before
Isaiah was gone out into the middle court,] the word of
Jehovah came unto him, saying: Go [back], and say
5 unto Hezekiah : Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David
thy father : I have heard thy supplication ; I have seen
thy tears. Behold [I will heal thee ; and on the third
day thou shalt go up into the house of Jehovah. And]
6 I will add unto thy days fifteen years. And 1 will de-
CHAP. XXXVIII. ISAIAH. 71
liver thee, and this city, from the hand of the king of
22 Assyria ; And I will protect this city. And [Hezekiab
said : By what sign shall I know, that I shall go up into
7 the house of Jehovah ? And Isaiah said : ] This shall
be the sign unto thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will
8 bring to effect this word which he hath spoken. Behold,
I will bring back the shadow of the degrees, by which
the sun is gone down on the degrees of Ahaz, ten de-
grees backward. And the sun returned backward ten de-
grees, on the degrees by which it had gone down.
21 And Isaiah said : Let them take a lump of figs : and they
bruised them, and applied them to the boil ; and he re-
covered.
9 The writing of hezekiah king of jtjdah, when
he had been sick, and was recovered from his
sickness.
10 I said, when my days were just going to be cut off,
I shall pass through the gates of the grave ;
I am deprived of the residue of my years !
11 I said, I shall no more see Jehovah in the land of
the living !
I shall no longer behold man, with the inhabitants of
the world !
12 My habitation is taken away, and is removed from me,
like a shepherd's tent :
My life is cut off, as by the weaver ; he will sever me
from the loom ;
In the course of the day thou wilt finish my web.
13 I roared until the morning, like the lion ;
So did he break to pieces all my bones.
14 Like the swallow, like the crane did I twitter;
I made a moaning like the dove.
Mine eyes fail with looking upward :
O Lord, contend thou for me ; be thou my surety.
15 What shall I say .'' he hath given me a promise, and
he hath performed it.
Through the rest of my years will I reflect on this
bitterness of my soul.
16 For this cause shall it be declared, O Jehovah, con-
concerning thee,
That thou hast revived my spirit ;
72 ISAIAH. CHAP, xxxnix.
That thou hast restored my health, and prolonged my
life.
17 Behold my anguish is changed into ease !
Thou hast rescued my soul from perdition ;
Yea thou hast cast behind thy back all my sins.
18 Verily the grave shall not give thanks unto thee;
death shall not praise thee ;
They that go down into the pit shall not await thy
truth :
19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do
this day ;
The father to the children shall make known thy faith-
fulness.
20 Jehovah was present to save me : therefore -will we
sing our songs to the harp,
All the days of our life, in the house of Jehovah.
CHAP. XXXIX.
1 At that time Mcrodach Baladan, the son of Baladan
king of Babylon, sent letters, and ambassadors, and a
present to Hezekiah : for he had heard that he had been
2 sick, and was recovered. And Hezelciah was rejoiced
at their arrival : and he shewed them his magazines, the
silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious
ointment, and his whole arsenal, and all that was con-
tained in his treasures : there was not any thing in his
house, and in all his dominion, that Hezekiah did not
shew them.
3 And Isaiah the prophet came unto king Hezekiah,
and said unto liim : What say these men 7 and from
whence came they unto thee ) And Hezekiah said : They
are come to me from a distant country ; from Babylon.
4 And he said : What have they seen in thy iiouse ? And
Hezekiah said : They have seen every thing in my
house : there is nothing in my treasures, which I have
5 not shewn them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah :
Hear thou the word of Jehovah God of Hosts.
6 Behold, the day shall come, when all that is in thy
house, and that thy fathers have treasured up unto this
day, shall be carried away to Babylon : there shall not
7 any thing be left, saitii Jehovah. And of thy sons,
which shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall
they lake : and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of
CHAP. XXXIX. ISAIAH. 73
8 tlie king of Babylon. And Flezekiah said unto Isaiah :
Gracious is the word of Jehovah, which tliou hast de-
livered ! For, added he, there shall be peace, according to
liis faithful promise, in my days.
CHAP. XL.
1 Comfort ye, comfort 3'e ni}'^ people, saith your God:
2 Speak ye animating words to Jerusalem, and declare unto
her,
That her warfare is fulfilled ; that the expiation of her
iniquity is accepted ;
That she shall receive at the hand of Jehovah
[Blessings] double to the punishment of all her sins.
3 A voice crieth : In the wilderness prepare ye the way
of Jehovah !
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God !
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and eveiy mountain and
hill be brought low ;
And the crooked shall become straight, and the rough
places a smooth plain :
5 And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed ;
And all tlesh shall see together the salvation of our God :
For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
C A voice sayeth: Proclaim! And I said, What shall
I proclaim ?
All flesh is grass, and all its glorv like the flower of the
field :
7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth ;
When the wind of Jehovah bloweth upon it.
Verily this people is grass,
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth ;
But the word of our God shall stand for ever.
9 Get thee up upon a high mountain, O daughter that
bringcst glad tidings to Sion :
Exalt thy voice with strength, O daughter that bringest
glad tidings to Jerusalem.
Exalt it ; be not afraid :
Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
10 Behold, the Lord Jehovah shall come against the
strong one,
And his arm shall prevail over him.
12
74 ISAIAH. CHAP. XI..
Behold, bis reward is with him, and the recompense of
his work before him.
11 Like a shepherd shall he feed his flock ;
In his arm shall be gather up the lambs,
And shall bear them in his bosom ; the nursing ewes
shall he gently lead.
12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his
hand ;
And hath meted out the heavens by his span ;
And hath comprehended the dust of (he earth in a tierce ;
And hath weighed in scales the mountains, and the bills
in a balance?
13 Who bath directed the spirit of Jehovah ;
And, as one of his council, hath informed him?
14 Whom hath he consulted, that he should instruct him.
And teach him the path of judgment ;
That he should impart to him science,
And inform him in the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop from the bucket ;
As the small dust of the balance shall they be accounted :
Behold, the islands he taketh up as an atom.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient for the fire ;
Nor his beasts sufficient for the burnt-ofifering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him ;
They are esteemed by him as less than nought, and
vanity.
18 To whom therefore will ye liken God?
And what is the model of resemblance, that ye will pre-
pare for him ?
19 The workman castcth an image ;
And the smilh overlayeth it with plates of gold ;
And forgclh for it chains of silver.
20 He that cannot alTord a costly oblation, chooseth a piec«
of wood that will not rot ;
He procureth a skilful artist,
To erect an image, which shall not be moved.
21 Will ye not know? will ye not bear?
Hath it tiot been declined to you from the beginning?
Have ye not understood it from the foundations of the
earth?
22 It is lie, that sitlcth on the circle of the earth ;
CHAP. XL. ISAIAH. 7$
And the inhabitants are to him as grasshoppers :
That extendeth the heavens, as a thin veil ;
And spreadeth them out, as a tent to dwell in :
23 That reduceth princes to nothing;
That maketh the judges of the earth a mere inanity.
24 Yea they shall not leave a plant behind them, they shall
not be sown,
Their trunk shall not spread its root in the ground :
If he but blow upon them, they instantly wither ;
And the whirlwind shall bear them away like the stubble.
25 To whom then will ye liken nvi ?
And to whom shall I be equalled l saith the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high ;
And see, who hath created these.
He draweth forth their armies by number ;
He calleth them all by name :
Through the greatness of his strength, and the mightinesB
of his power.
Not one of them faileth to appear.
27 Wherefore sayest thou then, O Jacob,
And why speakest thou thus, O Israel,
My way is hidden from Jehovah,
And my cause passeth unregarded by my God.
28 Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard,
That Jehovah is the everlasting God,
The Creator of the bounds of the earth ?
That he neither fainteth, nor is wearied ;
And that his understanding is unsearchable !
29 He giveth strength to the faint,
And to the infirm he multiplieth force.
30 The young men shall faint and be wearied ;
And the chosen youths shall stumble and fall :
31 But they that trust in Jehovah shall gather new
strength ;
They shall put forth fresh feathers like the moulting
eagle :
They shall run, and not be wearied ;
They shall march onward, and shall not faint.
CHAP. XLI.
1 Let the distant nations repair to me w^ith new force of
mind ;
And let the peoples recover their strength.
<b ISAIAH. CHAP. XLI.
Let llicm draw near ; then let them speak ;
Let us enter into solemn debate together.
2 Who hath raised up the righteous man from the
east ;
Hath called him to attend his steps ?
Hath subdued nations at his presence ;
And given him dominion over kings?
Hath made them like the dust before his sword ;
And like the driven stubble before his bow '/
3 He pursueth them ; he passe th in safety ;
By a way never trodden before with his feet.
4 AVho hath performed, and made these things,
Calling the several generations from the beginning?
I Jehovah, the first ;
And with the last, I am the same.
5 The distant nations saw, and they were afraid ;
The remotest parts of the earth, and they were terrified.
They drew near, they came together ;
6 Every one assisted his neighbour,
And said to his brother, Be of good courage.
7 The carver encourageth the smith ;
He that smootheth with the hammer, him that smiteth
on the anvil ;
Saying of the solder. It is good ;
And he fixeth the idol with nails, that it shall not move.
8 But thou, Israel, my servant ;
ThoU; Jacob, whom 1 have chosen ;
The seed of Abraham my friend :
9 Thou, whom I have led by the hand from the ends of
the earth :
And called from the extremities thereof ;
And 1 said unto ihec, Thou art my servant ; ^
I have chosen thee, and will not reject thee :
10 Fear not, for 1 am with tliee ;
Be not dismayed, for I am thy Goth
I have strengthened thoe, I have assisted thee ;
I have even supported thee with my faithful right hand.
11 Behold, they, that were emagcd against thee, shall be
ashamed and confounded ;
CHAP. XLI. ISAIAH. 77
They, that contended with thee, shall become as nothing-,
and shall utterly perish.
12 Thou shalt seek them, and slialt not find them, even the
men that strove with thee :
They shall become as nothing-, and as mere nought,
even the men that opposed thee in battle.
13 For I am Jehovah thy God, that hold thee fast by thy
right hand ;
That say unto thee. Fear not ; I am thy helper.
14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob ; ye mortals of Israel :
I am thy helper, saith Jehovah ;
And thine avenger is the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I have made thee a thrashing wain ;
A new corn-drag armed with pointed teeth :
Thou shalt thrash the mountains, and beat them smal^ ;
And reduce the hills to chatf :
16 Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall bear them
away ;
And the tempest shall scatter them abroad :
But thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah ;
In the Holy One of Israel shalt thou triumph.
17 The poor and the needy seek for water, and there is
none ;
Their tongue is parched with thirst :
I Jehovah will answer them ;
The God of Israel, I will not forsake them.
18 I will open in the high places rivers ;
And in the midst of the vallies, fountains :
I will make the desert a standing pool;
And the dry ground streams of waters.
19 In the wilderness I will give the cedar ;
The acacia, the myrtle, and the tree producing oil ;
I will plant the fir-tree in the desert ;
The pine, and the box together :
20 That they may see, and that they may know;
And may consider, and understand at once,
That the hand of Jehovah hath done this,
And that the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
SI Draw near, produce your cause, saith Jehovah :
Produce these your mighty powers, saith the king of
Jacob.
12*
T8 ISAIAH. CHAP. XLl.
22 Let them approach, and tell us the things that shall
happen ;
The things that shall first happen, what they are, let
ihein tell us :
And we will consider them ; and we shall know the event.
Or declare to us things to come hereafier :
23 Tell us the things, tiiat will come to pass in later times ;
Then shall we know that ye are Gods.
Yea, do good, or do evil ;
Then shall we be struck at once with admiration and
terror.
24 But, behold, ye are less than nothing ;
And your operation is less than nought;
Abhorred be the man that chooseth you !
25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall
come ;
From the rising of the sun he shall invoke my name :
And he shall trample on princes, like the mortar ;
Even as the potter treadeth down the clay.
26 Who hath declared this from the beginning, that we
should know it?
And beforehand, that we might say, The prediction is
true?
There was not one, that foretold it ; not one, that de-
clared it ;
There was not one, that heard your words :
26 I first to Sion [give the word]. Behold they are here ;
And to Jerusalem I give the messenger of glad tidings.
28 But I looked, and there was no man ;
And among the idols, and there was no one that gave
warning ;
29 And I in(|uired of them, and [there was no one] that
could return an answer.
Behold, they are all of them vanity ; their works are
nought:
Mere wind and emptiness are their molten images.
CHAP. XLII.
1 Bkhold my servant, whom 1 will uphold ;
My chosen, in whom my soul delightcth :
I will make my spirit rest upon him ;
And he shall publish judgment to the nations.
CHAP. XLII. ISAIAH. 79
2 He shall not cry aloud, nor raise a clamour,
Nor cause his voice to be heard in the public places:
3 The bruised reed he shall not break ;
And the dimly burnifi^ tlax he shall not quench :
He shall publish judgment, so as to establish it per-
fecily.
4 His force shall not be abated, nor broken ;
Until he hath firmly seated judgm.ent in the earth :
And the distant nations shall earnestly wait for his law.
5 Thus saith the God, even Jehovah,
Who created (he heavens, and stretched them out ;
Who spread abroad the eartli, and the produce thereof;
Who giveth breath to the people upon it,
And spirit to them that tread thereon :
6 I Jehovah have called thee for a righteous purpose ;
And 1 will take hold of thy hand, and will preserve
thee ;
And I will give thee for a covenant to the people, for a
light to tlie nations :
7 To open the eyes of the blind ;
To bring the captive out of confinement ;
And from the dungeon, those that dwell in darkness.
8 1 am Jehovah, that is my name;
And my glory will I not give to another.
Nor my praise to the graven images.
9 The former predictions, lo ! they are come to pass;
And new events I now declare :
Before they spring forth, 1 make them known unto you.
10 Sing unto Jehovah a new song ;
His praise, from the ends of the earth :
Ye that go down upon the sea, and all that fill it ;
Ye distant sea-coasts, and ye that dwell therein :
11 Let the desert cry aloud, and the cities thereof;
The villages, and they that dwell in Kedar:
Let the inhabitants of the rocky country utter a joyful
sound ;
liCt them shout aloud from the top of the mountains :
12 Lei them ascribe glory to Jehovah ;
And among the distant nations make known his praise.
13 Jehovah shall march forth like a hero;
Like a mighty warrior shall he rouse his vengeance :
80 ISAIAH. CHAP. XLII.
He shall cry aloud : he shall shout amain ;
He i-hall •^\el•t his strength against his enemies.
14 1 have long holden my peace ; shall I keep silence for
ever ?
Shall I still contain myself? I will cry out like a woman
in iravail ;
Breathing short, and drawing in my breath with vio-
liMice.
15 I will make barren the mountains andliills;
And burn up all the grass, that is upon them :
I will make the rivers dry deserts;
And scorch up the pools of water.
16 I will lead the blind in a way, which they have not
known ;
And through paths, which they have not known, will I
make them go :
1 will turn darkness into light before them ;
And the rugged ways into a smooth plain.
These things will 1 do for them, and will not forsake
them.
17 They are turned backward, they are utterly confound-
ed, who trust in the graven image ;
Who say unto the molten image, Ye are our gods !
18 Hear, O ye deaf;
And, ye blind, look attentively, that ye may see !
19 Who is blind, but n)y servant ;
And deaf, as he to whom 1 have sent my messengers?
Who is blitul, as he who is perfectly instructed;
And deaf, as the servant of Jehovah ?
20 Thou hast seen indeed, yet thou dost not regard ;
Thine ears are open, yet thou wilt not hear.
21 Yet Jehovah was gracious unto him, for his truth's
sake :
He hath exalted his own praise, and made it glorious.
22 But this is a peo[)le sp.-ilcd and plunilercd :
All their chosen youths arc taken in the toils,
And are plunged in the dark dimgeons :
They aie become a spoil, and there was none to rescue
them ;
A plunder, and no one said. Restore.
CHAP. XLII. ISAIAH. 81
23 Who is there among you, that will listen to this ;
That will hearken, and attend to it, for the future?
24 Who hath given Jacob for a spoil ;
And Israel to the plunderers ?
Was it not Jehovah ; He, against whom they have
sinned;
In whose ways they would not walk ;
And whose law they would not obey ?
25 Therefore poured he out upon them the heat of his
wrath, and the violence of war :
And it kindled a flame round about him, yet he did not
regard it ;
And it set him on fire, yet he did not consider it.
CHAP. XLIIl.
1 Yet now, thus saith Jehovah ;
Who created thee, O Jacob ; and who formed thee, O
Israel :
Fear thou not, for I have redeemed thee ;
I have called thee by thy name ; thou art mine.
2 When thou passest through waters, I am with thee;
And through rivers, they shall not overwhelm thee:
When thou walkest in the fire, thou shalt not be
scorched ;
And the flame shall not take hold of thee.
3 For I am Jehovah, thy God ;
The Holy One of Israel, thy redeemer :
I have given Egypt for thy ransom ;
Cush, and Saba, in thy stead.
4 Because thou hast been precious in my sight,
Thou hast been honoured, and I have loved thee:
Therefore will I give men itjstead of thee ;
And peo[)les instead of thy soul.
5 Fear thou not, for I am with thee :
From the east I will bring thy children,
And from the west I will gather thee together :
6 I will say to the north, Give up ;
And to the south. Withhold not :
Bring my sons from afar;
And my daughters from the ends of the earth :
7 Every one that is called by my name,
Whom for my glory I have created ;
Whom 1 have formed, yea whom 1 have made.
82 ISAIAH. CHAP. XLIII.
8 Bring forth the people, blind, although they have
eyes ;
And deaf, although they have ears.
9 Let all the nations be gathered together,
And let the peoples be collected.
"Who among them will declare this ;
And will tell us, what first shall come to pass?
Let (hem produce their witnesses, that they may be jus-
tified :
Or let them hear in their turn, and say, This is true.
10 Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah ;
Even my servant, whom I have chosen :
That ye may know, and believe me ;
And understand, that I am He.
Before me no god was formed ;
And after me none shall exist.
11 I, even 1, am Jehovah ;
And beside me there is no saviour.
12 I declared my purpose, and I have saved :
I made it known ; nor was it any strange god among
you :
And ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, that I am
God.
13 Even before time was, I am He ;
And there is none that can rescue out of my hand :
I work ; and who shall undo what 1 have done ?
14 Thus saith Jehovaii,
Your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel :
For your sake have I sent unto Babylon ;
And I will bring down all her strong bars;
And the Chaldeans, exulting in their ships :
15 I am Jehovah, your Holy Otic;
The creator of Israel, your king.
IG Thus saith Jehovah ;
Who made a way in the sea,
And a |)ath in the mighty waters ;
17 Who bronght forth the rider and the horse, the army and
the warrior ;
Together they lay down, they rose no more;
They were extinguished, they were quenched like tow :
CHAP. XLIII. ISAIAH. 83
18 Remember not the former things ;
And the things of ancient times regard not ;
19 Behold, I maive a new thing ;
Even now shall it spring forth : will ye not regard it 1
Yea I will make in the wilderness a way ;
In the desert, streams of water. ^
20 The wild beast of the field shall glorify me ;
The dragons, and the daughters of the ostrich :
Because I have given waters in the \vilderness ;
And flowing streams in the desert ;
To give drink to my people, my chosen :
21 This people, whom I have formed for myself;
Who shall recount my praise.
22 But thou hast not invoked me, O Jacob ;
Neither on my account hast thou laboured, O Israel.
23 Thou hast not brought to me the lamb of thy burnt-
offering ;
Neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices :
I have not burthened thee with exacting oblations ;
Nor wearied thee with demands of frankincense :
24 Thou hast not purchased for me with silver the aromatic
reed ;
Neither hast thou satiated me with tlie fat of thy sacri-
fices.
On the contrary, thou hast burthened me with thy sin&;
Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
25 I, even I, am He ;
I blot out thy transgressions for mine own sake ;
And thy sins I will not remember.
26 Remind me of thy plea : let us be judged on equal
terms :
Set forth thine own cause, that thou mayest clear thy-
self.
27 Thy chief leader hath sinned ;
And thy public teachers have revolted from me;
28 And thy princes have profaned my sanctuary:
Theiefore will I give up Jacob for a devoted things
And Israel to reproach.
"CHAP. XLIV.
1 But iiear now, O Jacob, my servant ;
And Israel, whom I have chosen :
2 Thus saith Jehovah, thy maker ;
84 ISAIAH. CHAP. XLIV.
And he that formed thee fioni the womb, and will help
thee :
Fear thou not, O my servant Jacob ;
And, O Jesluirun, whoni I have chosen :
3 For I will pour out waters on the thirsty ;
And flowing streams on (he dry ground :
1 will pour out my spirit on thy seed ;
And my blessing on thine oH'spring.
4 And they shall spring up as the grass among tiie waters;
As the willows beside the aqueducts.
■5 One shall say ; I belong to Jehovah ;
And another shall l)e called by the name of Jacob :
And this shall inscribe his hand to Jehovah ;
And shall be suriiaiued by the name of Israel.
G Thus saith Jehovah, the king of Israel ;
And Ids redeemer, Jehovah God of Hosts :
I am the first, and 1 am the last ;
And beside me there is no God.
7 And who is like me, that he should call forth this event,
And make it known l^eforehand. and dispose it for n)e,
From the time that I appointed the people of the destined
age ?
The tilings that are now coming, and are to come hereaf-
ter, let them declare imto us.
8 Fear ye not, neither be ye afraid :
Have I not declared it unto you from the first?
Yea, I have foreshown it ; and ye are my witnesses.
Is there a God beside me?
Yea, there is no other sure protector ; I know not any.
^ They that form the graven image are all of them vanity j
And their most curious works shall not profit.
Yea, their works themselves bear witness to them,
That they see not, and that they understand not :
10 That every one may be ashamed, that ho hath formed a
And cast a graven image, that profiteth not.
1 1 Ikhold, all his associates sliall be ashamed ;
Even the workmen themselves shall blush :
They shall assemble all of them ; they phall present
themselves ;
They shall fear, and be ashamed together.
CHAP. XLIV. ISAIAH. 85
12 The smith ctitteth off a portion of iron :
He worketii it in the coals, and with hammers he form-
eth it ;
And he exerteth upon it the force of his arm.
Yea, lie is hungry, and his strength faiieth him ;
He drinketh no water, and he is faint.
13 The carpenter stretcheth his hne ;
He marketh out the form of it with red ochre:
He worketh it with the sharp tool ;
He figureth it with the compass :
He maketh it according to the fashion of a man ;
According to the beauty of the human form, that it may
abide in the house.
14 He heweth down cedars for his use :
And he taketh the pine, and the oak ;
And layeth in good store of the trees of the forest.
He plauteth the ash, and the rain nourisheth it ;
15 That it may be for the use of man, for fuel:
And he taketh thereof, and warmeth himself;
Yea he heateth the oven with it, and baketh bread :
He also formeth a god, and worshippeth it :
He maketh of it a graven image, and boweth down unto
it.
16 Part of it he burnetii in the fire ;
And with part of it he dresseth flesh, and eatetli :
He roasteth meat, and his hunger is satisfied ;
He also warmeth himself, and sayeth.
Aha ! I am warmed, 1 have enjo3^ed the fire :
17 And the remainder thereof he maketh a god, even his
graven image ;
He boweth down to it, and worshippeth it :
And he prayeth unto it, and sayeth ;
Deliver me, for thou art my God !
18 They know not, neither do they understand :
Yerily their eyes are closed up, that they cannot see ;
And tlieir heart, that they cannot rightly discern :
19 Neither doth he consider in his heart ;
Neither hath he knowledge, nor understanding, to say :
Part of it 1 have burned in the fire ;
I have also baked bread on the coals thereof;
I have roasted flesh, and I have eaten :
And shall 1 make the remnant an abomination ?
13
86 ISAIAH. CHAP. XLIV.
Shall I bow myself down to the stock of a tree ?
20 He feedeth on ashes ; a deluded heart leadeth him aside ;
So that he cannot deliver his own soul, nor say,
Is there not a lie in my right hand ?
21 Remember these things, O Jacob ;
And, Israel ; for thou art my servant :
I have formed thee ; thou art a servant unto me ;
0 Israel, by me thou shalt not be forgotten.
22 I iiave made thy transgressions vatiish away like a cloud ;
And thy sins like a vapour :
Return unto me ; for 1 have redeemed thee.
23 Sing, O ye heavens, for Jehovah hath effected it ;
Utter a joyful sound, O ye depths of the earth :
Burst forth into song, O ye mountains ;
Thou, forest, and every tree tlierein !
For Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob ;
And will be glorified in Israel.
24 Thus saith Jehovah, thy redeemer ;
Even he, that formed tiiee from the womb :
1 am Jehovah, who make all things ;
Who stretch out the heavens alone ;
Who spread the firm earth by myself:
25 I am he, who frustrateth the prognostics of the im|X)s-
tors ;
And maketh the diviners mad :
Who reverseth the devices of the sages,
And infatuateth their knowledge :
2G Who establisheth the word of his servant ;
And accomplishcth the counsel of his messengers :
Who sayeth to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited ;
And to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built ;
And her desolated places I will restore :
27 AVho sayeth to the deep, Be thou wasted ;
And I will make dry thy rivers :
28 Who sayeth to Cyrus, Thou art my shepherd!
And lie shall fulfil all my pleasure :
Who sayeth to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built ;
And to the temple. Thy foundations shall be laid.
CHAP. XLV.
ISAIAH. 87
CHAP. XLV.
1 Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed ;
To Cyrus, whom I hold fast by the right hand :
That I may subdue nations before him ;
And ungird the loins of kings :
That I may open before him the valves ;
And the gates shall not be shut.
2 I will go before thee ;
And make the mountains level :
The valves of brass I will break in sunder ;
And the bars of iron will I hew down.
3 And I will give unto thee the treasures of darkness,
And tiie stores deep hidden in secret places :
That thou mayest know, that I am Jehovah ;
He that calleth thee by thy name, the God of Israel.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob ;
And of Israel, my chosen ;
1 have even called thee by thy name ;
I have surnamed thee, though thou knowest me not.
5 I am Jehovah, and none else ;
Beside me there is no God :
I will gird thee, though thou hast not known me.
6 That they may know, from the rising of the sun,
And from the west, that there is none beside me :
I am Jehovah, and none else ;
7 Forming light, and creating darkness ;
Making peace, and creating evil ;
I Jehovah am the author of all these things.
8 Drop down, O ye heavens, the dew from above ;
And let the clouds shower down righteousness :
Let the earth open her bosom, and let salvation produce
her fruit ;
And let justice push forth her bud together :
I Jehovah have created it.
9 Wo unto him, that contendeth with the power that
formed him ;
The potsherd with the moulder of the clay !
Shall the clay say to the potter. What makest thou
And to the workman, Thou hast no hands ?
10 Wo unto him that sayeth to his father, What begettest thou ?
And to his mother, What dost thou bring forth ?
88 ISAIAH. CHAP. XLV.
U Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel ;
And he that fornieth the things, which are to come :
Do ye (luestion me concerning my children ?
And do ye give me diieciious concerning the works of
my hands ?
12 I have made the earth ;
And man upon it I have created :
My hands have stretched out the heavens ;
And to all the host of them I have given command :
13 I have raised him up in righteousness ;
And I will make level all his ways.
He shall build my city, and release my captives ;
ISot for pi ice, nor for reward :
Saith Jehovah God of Hosts.
14 Thus saith Jehovah :
The wealth of Egypt, and the merchandise of Cush,
And the Sabeans tall of stature,
Shall come over to thee, and shall be thine :
They shall follow thee ; in chains shall they pass along ;
They shall bow down to thee, and in suppliant guise ad-
dress thee :
In thee alone is God ;
And there is no God besides whatever.
15 Verily, thou art a God that hidest thy counsels,
O God of Israel, the saviour !
16 They are ashamed, they are even confounded, his ad-
versaries, all of them ;
Together they retire in confusion, the fabricators of im-
ages.
17 But Israel shall be saved in Jehovah with eternal sal-
vation :
Ye shall not be ashamed, neither shall ye be confounded,
to the ages of eternity.
18 For thus saith Jehovah,
Who created the heavens ; he is God :
Who formed the earth and made it ; he hath established
it:
He created it not in vain ; for he formed it to be inha-
bited :
CHAP. XLV. ISAIAH. 89
I am Jehovah, and none besides :
19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth ;
I have not said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain :
I am Jehovah, who speak truth ; who give direct
answers.
20 Assemble yourselves together, and come ;
Gather yourselves together, ye that are escaped from
among the nations.
They know nothing, that carry about the wood, which
they have carved ;
That address themselves in prayer to a god, which can-
not save.
21 Publish it abroad, and bring them near ; and let them
consult together :
Who hath made this known long before, hath declared it
from the first ?
Is it not I Jehovah, than whom there is no other God ?
• A God, that uttereth truth, and granteth salvation ; there
is none beside me ?
22 Look unto me, and be saved, O all ye remote people of
the earth ;
For I am God, and there is none else.
23 By myself have I sworn ; truth is gone forth from my
mouth ;
The word, and it shall not be revoked :
Surely to me shall every knee bow, shall every tongue swear:
24 Saying, Only to Jehovah belongeth salvation and power :
To him they shall come ; they shall be ashamed, all that
are incensed against him :
25 In Jehovah shall be justified, and make their boast, all
the seed of Israel.
CHAP. XLVI.
1 Bel boweth down, Nebo croucheth ;
Their idols are laid on the beasts and the cattle ;
Their burthens are heavy, a grievous weight to the weary
beast.
2 They crouched, they bowed down together :
They could not deliver their own charge ;
Even they themselves are gone into captivity.
3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob;
And all ye the remnant of the house of Israel :
13*
90 ISAIAH. CHAP. XLVl,
Ye thai have been borne by nie fiom the birth ;
That have been carried from the womb.
4 And even to your old age, I am the same ;
And even to your o^rey hairs, I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear ;
I will carry, and will deliver you.
5 To whom will ye liken me, and equal me ?
And to whom will ye compare nie, that we may be like?
6 Ye that lavish gold out of the bag ;
And that weigh silver in the balance ?
They hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a god :
They worship him ; yea the}^ prostrate themselves before
him.
7 They bear him on the shoulder ; they carry him about ;
They set him down in his place, and he standeth :
From his place he shall not remove ;
To him that crieth unto him, he will not answer ;
Neither will he deliver him from his distress.
8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men :
Reflect on it deeply, O ye apostates.
9 Remember the former things, of old time :
Verily I am God, and none else ;
I am God, nor is there any thing like me.
10 From the beginning making known the end ;
And from early times, the things that are not yet done ;
Saying, My counsel shall stand ;
And whatever I have willed; I will effect.
11 Galling from the east the eagle ;
And from a land far distant, the man of my counsel :
As I have spoken, so will I bring it to pass ;
I have formed the design, and I will execute it.
12 Hearken unto me, O ye stubborn of heart ;
Ye that are far distant from deliverance :
13 I bring my promised deliverance near, it shall not be far
distant ;
And my salvation shall not be delayed.
And I will give in Sion salvation ;
To Israel 1 will give my glory.
CHAP. XLVII. ISAIAH. 91
CHAP. XLVII.
1 Descend, and sit on the dust, O virgin daughter of
Babylon ;
Sit on the bare ground without a throne, O daughter of
the Chaldeans :
For thou shall no longer be called the tender, and the
delicate.
2 Take the mill, and grind the corn :
Uncover thy locks, disclose thy flowing hair ;
Make bare thy leg ; wade through the rivers.
3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered ; even thy shancie shall
be seen :
I will take full vengeance ; neither will I suffer man to in-
tercede with me.
4 Our avenger, Jehovah God of Hosts,
The Holy One of Israel, is his name !
5 Sit thou in silence, go into darkness, O daughter of the
Chaldeans ;
For thou shalt no longer be called the lady of the king-
doms.
6 I was angry with my people ; I profaned my heritage ;
And I gave them up into thy hand :
Thou didst not shew mercy unto them ;
Even upon the aged didst thou greatly aggravate the
weight of thy yoke.
7 And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever :
Because thou didst not attentively consider these things ;
Thou didst not think on what was in the end to befall
thee.
8 But hear now this, O thou voluptuous, that sittest in se-
curity ;
Thou that sayest in thy heart, I am, and there is none
else ;
I shall not sit a widow ; I shall not know the loss of chil-
dren.
9 Yet shall these two things come upon thee in a moment ;
In one day, loss of children and widowhood :
On a sudden shall they come upon thee ;
Notwithstanding the multitude of thy sorceries, and the
great strength of thine enchantments.
92 ISAIAH. CHAP, XLTII.
10 But thou didst trust in thy wickedness, and saidst, None
seeih me :
Thy wisdom and thy knowledge have perverted thy
niiud ;
So that thou hast said in thy heart, I am, and there is
none besides.
11 Therefore evil shall come upon thee, which thou shalt not
know how to deprecate ;
And mischief shall fall upon thee, which thou shalt not
be able to expiate ;
And destruction shall come upon thee suddenly, of which
thou shalt have no apprehension.
12 Persist now in thine enchantments ;
And in the multitude of thy sorceries, in which thou
hast laboured from thy youth :
If peradventure thou mayest be profited, if thou mayest be
strengthened by them.
13 Thou art wearied in the multiplicity of thy counsels :
Let them stand up now, and save thee ;
The observers of the heavens, the gazers on the stars ;
They that prognosticate at every new moon,
What are the events, that shall happen unto thee.
14 Behold they shall be like stubbie ; the fire shall burn
them up :
They shall not deliver their own souls from the power
of the flame ;
Not a coal to warm one, not a fire to sit by, shall be left
of them.
15 Such shall these be unto thee, witli whom thou hast la-
boured ;
Tliy negociators, with whom thou hast dealt from thy
youth :
Every one shall turn aside to his own business ; none
shall deliver thee.
CHAP. XL VI II.
1 Hear this, O house of Jacob ;
Ye that arc called by the name of Israel :
Ye that flow from the fountain of Judah ;
Ye that swear by the name of Jehovah,
And pubhcly acknowledge the God of Israel ;
But not in sincerity, nor in truth :
2 Who take their name from the Holy City,
CHAP. XLVIII. ISAIAH.
93
And make the God of Israel their support ;
Jkhovah God of Hosts is his name :
3 The former things I shewed unto you from the first ;
And from my mouth they proceeded, and I declared
them :
On a sudden I effected them, and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew, that thou wast obstinate,
And that thy neck was a sinew of iron,
And that thy front was brass :
5 Therefore I shewed them unto thee from the first ;
Before they should come to pass, I made thee hear them :
Lest thou shouldst say, Mine idol hath caused them ;
And my graven and my molten image fiath directed thera.
6 Thou didst hear it beforehand ; behold, the whole is ac-
complished :
And will ye not openly acknowledge this?
From this time I make thee hear new things,
Kept secret hitherto, and of which thou hast no know-
ledge :
7 They are produced now, and not of old ;
And before this day thou hast not heard them :
Lest thou shouldst say, Lo ! I knew them.
8 Yea, thou hast not heard, thou hast not known.
Yea, from the first thine ear was not opened to receive
them :
For I knew, that thou wouldst certainly deal falsely,
And that Apostate was thy name from thy birth.
9 For the sake of my name I will defer mme anger ;
And for the sake of my praise 1 will restrain Jt from thee,
That 1 may not utterly cut (hee off.
10 Behold, I have purified thee in the fire, but not as silver ;
I have tried thee in the furnace of afiiiction.
11 For mine own sake will 1 do it ; for how would my name
be blasphemed ?
And my glory I will not give to another.
12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob my servant ;
And Israel, whom I have called.
I am He ; I am the first, and I am the last :
13 Yea my hand hath founded the earth ;
And my right hand hath spanned the heavens :
I summon thera ; they present themselves together.
94 ISAIAH. CHAP. XLVIII.
14 Gather yourselves together all of you, and hear :
Who among you hath predicted these things?
He, whom Jehovah hath loved, will execute
His will on Babylon, and his power on the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken ; yea I have called him :
I have brought him, and his way shall prosper.
16 Draw near unto me, and hear ye this :
From the beginning 1 have not spoken in secret ;
Before the time when it began to exist, I had decreed it.
And now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and his
• Spirit.
17 Thus saith Jehovah,
Thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel :
I am Jehovah, thy God ;
Who teacheth thee what will tend to thy profit ;
Whodirecteth thee in the way wherein thou shouldst go.
18 O that thou hadst attended to my commands !
Then had thy prosperity been like tlie river ;
And thy blessedness, as the Hoods of the sea :
19 And thy seed had been as the sand ;
And the issue of thy bowels, like that of the bowels
thereof :
Thy name should not be cut off, nor destroyed from be-
fore me.
20 Come ye forth from Babylon ; flee ye from the land of
the Chaldeans v/ith the voice of jo}^:
Publish ye this, and make it heard ; utter it forth even to
the end of the earth :
Say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed his servant Jacob ;
21 They thirsted not in the deserts, through which he made
them go ;
Waters from the rock he caused to flow for them ;
Yea he clave the rock, and forth gushed the waters.
22 There is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the wicked.
CHAP. XLIX.
1 Hearken unto me, O ye distant lands ;
And ye peoples, attend from afar.
Jehovah from the womb hath called me ;
CHAP, XLIX. ISAIAH. 95
From the bowels of my mother hath he mentioned my
name.
2 And he hath made my mouth a sharp sword ;
In the shadow of his hand he hath concealed me :
Yea he hath made me a polished shaft ;
He hath laid me up in store in his quiver :
3 And he hath said unto me, Thou art my servant ;
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
4 And I said : I have laboured in vain ;
For nought, and for vanity, I have spent my strength :
Nevertheless my cause is with Jehovah ;
And the reward of my work with my God.
5 And now thus saith Jehovah,
(Who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
To bring back again Jacob unto him,
And that Israel unto him may be gathered :
Therefore am I glorious in the eyes of Jehovah,
And my God is ray strength ) :
6 It is a small thing for thee, that thou shouldst be my ser-
vant.
To raise up the scions of Jacob,
And to restore the branches of Israel :
I wnll even give thee for a light to the nations,
To be my salvation to the end of the earth.
7 Thus saith Jehovah,
The redeemer of Israel, his Holy One ;
To him, whose person is despised, whom the nation holds
in abhorrence ;
To the subject of rulers :
Kings shall see him, and rise up ;
Princes, and they shall worship him :
For the sake of Jehovah, who is faithful ;
Of the Holy One of Israel, for he hath chosen thee.
8 Thus saith Jehovah :
In the season of acceptance have I heard thee,
And in the day of salvation have I helped thee ;
And I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of
the people ;
To restore the land, to give possession of the desolate her-
itages.
9 Saying to the bounden, Go forth ;
And to those that are in darkness, Appear :
96 ISAIAH. CHAP. XLIX.
They shall feed beside the ways,
And on all the eminences shall be their pasture.
10 They shall not hunger, neither shall they thirst ;
Neitlier shall the glowing heat, or the sun, smite them :
For he, that hath compassion on them, shall lead them ;
And shall guide them to the bursting springs of water.
11 And I will make all my mountains an even way;
And my causeways shall be raised on high.
12 Lo ! these shall come from afar ;
And lo ! these from the north and the west ;
And these from the land of Sinim.
13 Sing aloud, O ye heavens ; and rejoice, O earth ;
Ye mountains, burst forth into song :
For Jehovah hath comforted his people,
And will have compassion on his afflicted.
14 But Sion saycth : Jehovah hath forsaken me ;
And my Lord hath forgotten me.
15 Can a v^'oman forget her sucking infant ;
That she should have no tenderness for the son of her
womb ?
Even these may forget ;
But 1 will not forget ihee.
16 Behold, on the palms of my hands have I delineated
thee :
Thy walls are for ever in my sight.
17 They, that destroyed thee, shall soon become thy build-
ers ;
And they, that laid thee waste, shall become thine off-
spring.
18 Lift up thine eyes around, and see ;
All these are gathered together, they come to thee.
As I Hve, sailh Jehovah,
Surely thou shalt clothe thyself with them all, as with a
rich dress ;
And bind them about thee, as a bride her jewels.
19 For thy waste, and thy desolate places,
And thy land laid in ruins ;
Even now it shall be straitened with inhabitants ;
And they, that devoured thee, shall be removed Air away.
20 The sons, of whom thou wast bereaved, shall yet say in
thine ears :
CHAP. XLIX.
ISAIAH., 97
This place is too strait for me ; make room for me, that
I may dwell.
21 And thou shalt say in thine heart : Who hath begotten
me these?
I was bereaved of my children, and solitary ;
An exile, and an outcast ; who then hath nursed these up ?
Lo ! I was abandoned, and alone ; these then, where
were they ?
22 Thus saith the Lord .Tehovah :
Behold, I will hft up my hand to the nations;
And to the peoples will I exalt my signal ;
And they shall bring thy sons in (heir bosom,
And thy daughters shall be borne on their shoulder :
23 And kings shall be thy foster-fathers.
And their queens thy nursing mothers:
With their faces to the earth they shall bow down unto
thee.
And shall lick the dust of thy feet.
And tliou shalt know, that 1 am Jehovah ;
And that they, who trust in him, shall not be ashamed.
24 Shall tlie spoil be taken away from the mighty ?
Or shall the prey seized by the terrible be rescued?
25 Yea, thus saith Jehovah :
Even the prey of the mighty shall be retaken ;
And the spoil seized by the terrible shall be rescued :
For with those, that contend with thee, I will contend ;
And thy children I will deliver.
26 And I will gorge thine oppressors with their owni flesli ;
And with their own blood, as with new wine, will I
drench them :
And all flesh shall know.
That I Jehovah am thy saviour ;
And that thy redeemer is the Mighty One of Jacob.
CHAP. L.
1 T'hus saith Jehovah :
Where is this bill of your mother's divorcement,
By which I dismissed her ?
Or who is he among my creditors.
To whom I have sold you ?
Behold, for your iniquities are ye sold ;
And for your transgiessions is your mother dismissed.
14
98 ISAIAH. CHAP. X.
2 Wherefore came I, and there was no man ?
Called I, and none answered ?
Is then my hand so greatly shortened, that I cannot re-
deem ?
And have I no power to deliver ?
Behold, at my rebuke I make dry the sea ;
I make the rivers a desert :
Their fish is dried up, because there is no water ;
And dieth away for thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness ;
And sackcloth I make their covering;.
4 TiiF, Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of the
learned ;
That I might know how to speak a seasonable word to
the weary.
He wakeneth, morning by morning.
He wakeneth mine ear, to hearken with the attention of
a learner.
5 The Lord Jehovah hath opened mine ear ;
And 1 was not rebellious ;
Neither did I withdraw myself backward.
6 I gave my back to the smiters.
And my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair:
My face I hid not from shame and spitting.
7 For the Lord Jehovah is my htlper ;
Therefore I am not ashamed.
Therefore have I set my face as a flint ;
And I know, that I shall not be confounded.
8 He that JListifieth me is ru'ar at hand :
Who is he that will contend with me ? let us stand forth
together :
Who is mine adversar}^ ? let him come on to the contest.
9 Behold, the Lord Jehovah is my advocate :
Who is he that shall condenm me ?
Iio ! all of them shall wax old as a garment ;
The moth shall consume them.
10 Who is tlicrc among you, (hat feareth Jehovah ?
Let him hearken unto the voice of his servant :
That walkclh in darkness, and hati; no light?
Let him trust in the name of Jehovah ;
CHAP. L.
ISAIAH. 99
And rest himself on the support of his God.
U Behold, all ye who kindle a fire ;
Who heap the fuel round about :
Walk ye in the light of your fire,
And of the fuel, which ye have kindled.
This ye shall have at my hand ;
Ye shall lie down in sorrow.
CHAP. LI.
1 Hearken unto me, ye that pursue righteousness,
Ye that seek Jehovah.
Look unto the rock, from whence ye were hewn ;
And to the hollow of the cave, whence ye were digged.
2 Look unto Abraham your father ;
And unto Sarah, who bore jou :
For I called him, being a single person.
And I blessed him, and I multiplied him.
3 Thus therefore shall Jehovah console Sion ;'
He shall console all her desolations :
And he shall make her wilderness like Eden ;
And her desert like the garden of Jehovah :
Joy and gladness shall be found in her ;
Thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
4 Attend unto me, O ye peoples ;
And give ear unto me, O ye nations:
For the law from me shall proceed ;
And my judgment will I cause to break forth for a light
to the peoples.
5 My righteousness is at hand ; n)y salvation goeth forth ;
And mine arm shall dispense judgment to the peoples :
Me the distant lands shall expect ;
And to mine arm shall they look with confidence.
6 Lilt up unto the heavens your eyes ;
And look down unto the earth beneath :
Verily the heavens shall dissolve, like smoke ;
And the earth shall wax old, like a garment ;
And its inhabitants shall perish, like the vilest insect :
But my salvation shall endure for ever ;
And my righteousness shall not decay.
7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness;
The people, in whose heart is my law :
Fear not the reproach of wretched man ;
100 ISAIAH. CHAP. LI.
Neither be ye borne down by their revilin^s.
8 For the moth s^hall consume them, like a garment ;
And the worm shall eat them, hke wool :
But my righteousness shall endure for ever ;
And my salvation to the age of ages.
9 Awake, awake, clothe thyself with strength, O arm
of Jehovah !
Awake, as in the days of old, the ancient generations.
Art thou not the sanje that smote Rahab, tliat wounded
the dragon ?
10 Art thou not the same, that dried up the sea, the waters
of the great deep ?
That made the depths of the sea a path for the redeemed
to pass through ?
11 Thus shall the ransomed of Jehovah return,
And come to Sion witii loud acclamation :
And everlasting gladness shall crown their heads ;
Joy and gladness shall they obtain.
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you :
Who art thou, that thou shouldst fear wretched man, that
dieth ;
And the son of man, that shall become as the grass ?
13 And shouldst forget Jehovah thy maker,
Who stretched out the heavens, and founded the earth ;
And shouldst every day be in continued fear.
Because of the fury of the oppressor,
As if he were just ready to destroy ?
And where now is the fury of the oppressor ?
14 He marchelh on with speed, who cometh to set free the
captive ;
That he may not die in the dungeon.
And that his bread may not fail.
15 For I am Jehovah thy CJod ;
He, who stilleth at once the sea, though the waves there-
of roar ;
Jehovah God of Hosts is his name.
16 I have put my words in thy mouth ;
And with the shadow of my hand have I covered thee:
To stretch out the heavens, and to lay the foundations of
the earth ;
And to say unto Sion, Thou art my people.
CflAP. LI. ISAIAH. 101
17 Rouse thyself, rouse th5'Self up ; arise, O Jerusalem !
Who hast drunken from the hand of Jehovah the cup of
his fiuy :
The dregs of the cup of trembhng thou hast drunken,
thou hast wrung them out.
18 Tliere is not one to lead her, of all the sons which she
hath brought forth ;
Neither is there one to support her by the hand, of all the
sons which she hath educated.
19 These two things have befallen thee ; who shall bemoan
thee ?
Desolation, and destruction ; the famine, and the sword ;
who shall comfort thee ?
80 Thy sons lie astounded ; they are cast down ;
At the head of all the streets, like the oryx taken in the
toils ;
Drenched to the full with the fury of Jehovah, with the
rebuke of thy God.
21 Wherefore hear now this, O thou afHicted daughter ; \
And thou drunken, but not with wine.
22 Thus saiih thy Lord Jehovah ;
And thy God, who avengeth his people :
Behokl, I take from thy hand the cup of trembhng ;
The dregs of the cup of my fury ;
Thou shalt drink of it again no more.
33 But I will put it into the hand of them who oppress
thee ;
Who say to thee. Bow down thy body, that we may go
over :
And tliou layedst down thy back, as the ground ;
And as the street, to them that pass along.
eHAP. LII.
1 Awake, awake ; be clothed with thy strength. O Sion :
Clothe thyself with thy glorious garments, O Jerusalem,
thou holy city !
For no more shall enter into thee the uncircuracised and
the polluted.
2 Shake thyself from the dust, ascend thy lofty scat, O Je-
rusalem :
Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive
daughter of Sion !
14*
102 ISAIA.H. CHAP. Lll.
3 For thus saith Jehovah :
For nouglit were ye sold ;
And not with money shall ye be ransomed.
4 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah :
My people went down to Egypt,
At the iirst, to sojourn there;
And the Assyrian, at the last, hath oppressed them.
5 Antl now, what have 1 more to do, saith Jehovah :
Seeins:^ that my people is taken away for nought ;
And they, that are lords over them, make their boast of
it, saith Jehovah ;
And continually every day is my name exposed to con-
tempt ?
6 Therefore shall my people know my name in that day :
For I am he, Jehovah, that promised ; and lo ! here I
am !
7 How beautiful appear on the mountains
The feet of the joyful messenger ; of him, that announc-
eth peace !
Of the joyful messenger of good tidings ; of him, that an-
nounceth salvation !
Of him, that sayeth unto Sion, Thy God reigneth !
8 All thy watchmen lift up their voice ; they shout toge-
ther :
For face to face shall they see, when Jehovah returneth
to Sion.
9 Burst forth into joy, shout together, ye ruins of Jerusa-
lem !
For Jehovah hath comforted his people; he hath re-
deemed Israel.
10 Jehovah hath made bare his holy arm, in the sight of all
the nations ;
And all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation o^
our God.
1 1 Depart, depart ye, go ye out from thence ; touch no
polluted thing :
Go ye out from the midst of her ; be yc clean, ye that,
bear the vessels of Jehovaii !
12 Verily not in haste shall ye go forth ;
And not b)^ llight shall yc march along :
For Jehovah shall march in your front;
And the God of Israel shall bring up your rear.
CHAP. LII. ISAIAH. 103
13 Bkhold, my servant shall prosper;
He shall be raised aloft, and magnified, and very highly
exalted.
14 As many were astonished at him ;
(To such a degree was his countenance disfigured, more
than that of man ;
And his form, more than the sons of men ) ;
1-5 So shall he sprinkle many nations :
Before him shall kings shut their mouths ;
For what was not before declaied to them, they shall
see,
And what they had not heard, they shall attentively con-
sider.
CHAP. LIII.
1 Wbo hath believed our report ;
And to whom hath the arm of .Jehovah been manifested?
2 For he grovveth up in their sight hke a tender sucker ;
And like a root from a thirsty soil :
He hath no foim, nor any beauty, that we should regard
him ;
Nor is his countenance such, that we should desire him.
3 Despised, nor accounted in the number of men ;
A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
As one that hideth his face from us :
He Vv'as despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely our infirmities he hath borne ;
And our sorrows, he hath carried them :
Yet we thought him judicially stricken ;
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions ;
Was smitten for our iniquities :
The chastisement, by which our peace is effected, was
laid upon him ;
And by his bruises we are healed.
6 We all of us like sheep have strayed ;
We have turned aside, every one to his own way ;
And Jehovah hath made to light upon him the iniquity
of us all.
7 It was exacted, and he was made answerable ; and he
opened not his mouth :
As a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
104 ISAIAH. CHAP. Llll.
And as a sheep before her shearers
Is dum!) ; so he opened not his mouth.
8 By an oppressive judgment he was taken off;
And Iiis manner of Hfe who would declare ?
For he was cut off from the land of the living ;
For the transgression of my people he was smitten to death.
9 And his grave was appointed with the wicked ;
But with the rich man was his tomb.
Altlioui^h he had done no wrong,
INeiiher was there any guile in his mouth ;
10 Yet it pleased Jehovah to crush him with affliction.
If his soul shall make a propitiatory sacrifice,
He shall see a seed, which shall prolong their days,
And the gracious purpose of Jehovah shall prosper in
his hands.
11 Of (he travail of his soul he shall see [the fruit], and be
satisfied :
By the knowledge of him shall my servant justify many;
For the punishment of their iniquities he shall bear.
12 Therefore will I distribute to him the many for his por-
tion ;
And the mighty people shall he share for his spoil :
Because he poured out his soul unto death ;
And was numbered with the transgressors:
And he bare the sin of many ;
And made intercession for the transgressors.
CHAP. I.IV.
1 Shout for joy, O thou barren, that didst not bear ;
Break forth into joyful shouting, and exult, thou that
didst not travail :
For more are the children of the desolate,
Than of the married woman, saith Jehovah.
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent ;
And let the canopy of tliy habitation be extended :
Spare not ; lengihcn thy cords,
And firmly fix thy stakes:
3 For on the right hand, and on the left, thou shall burst
forth with increase ;
AntI thy r?eex\ shall inherit the nations ;
And tliey shall inhabit the desolate cities.
4 Fear not, for thou shalt not l)c confounded ;
And blush not, for thou shalt not be brought to reproach :
CHAP. LIV. ISAIAH. 105
For thou shall forget the shame of thy youth ;
And the reproach of thy widowhood thou shalt remember
110 more.
5 For thy husband is thy maker ;
Jehovah God of Hosts is his name :
And thy redeemer is the Holy One of Israel ;
The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
6 For as a woman forsaken, and deeply afflicted, hath Je-
hovah recalled thee ;
And as a wife, wedded in youth, but afterwards rejected,
saith thy God.
7 In a little anger have I forsaken thee ;
But wiih great mercies will I receive thee again :
8 In a short wrath I hid my face for a moment from thee ;
But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee ;
Saith thy redeemer Jehovah.
9 The same will I do now, as in the days of Noah, when I
sware.
That the waters of Noah should no more pass over the
earth :
So have 1 sworn, that I will not be wroth with thee, nor
rebuke thee.
10 For the mountains shall be removed ;
And the hills shall be overthrown :
But my kindness from thee shall not be removed ;
And the covenant of my peace shall not be overthrown ;
Saith Jehovah, who beareth towards thee the most ten-
der affection.
11 0 thou afflicted, beaten with the storm, destitute of con-
solation !
Behold 1 lay thy stones in cement of vermilion,
And thy foundations with sapphires :
12 And I will make of rubies thy battlements ;
And thy gates of carbimcles ;
And the whole circuit of thy walls shall be of precious
stones.
13 And all thy children shall be taught by Jehovah ;
And great shall be the prosperity of thy children.
14 In righteousness shalt thou be established :
Be thou far from oppression ; yea thou shalt not fear it ;
And from terror ; for it shall not approach thee.
15 Behold, they shall be leagued together, but not by my
command ;
106 ISAIAH. CHAP. LIV.
Whosoever is leagued against thee, shall come over to thy
side.
16 Behold, I have created (hesmiih,
Who bloweth up the coals into a fire,
And pioduceth instinnients according to his work ;
And I have created the destroyer to lay waste.
17 Whatever weapon is formed against thee, it shall not pros-
per ;
And against every tongue, that contendeth with thee,
thou shall obtain thy cause.
This is the heritage of Jehovah's servants,
And their justification from nie, saith Jehovah.
CHAP. LV.
1 Ho ! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters !
And that hath no silver, come ye, buy, and eat !
Yea, come, buy ye without silver ;
And williout price, wine and milk.
2 Wherefore tlo ye weigh out your silver for that which ia
no bread ?
And your riches, for that which will not satisfy ?
Attend, and hearken unto me ; and eat that which is truly
good; .
And your soul shall feast itself with the richest delicacies.
Incline your ear, and come unto me ;
Attend, and your soul shall live :
And I will make with you an everlasting covenant;
1 will give you the gracious promises made to David,
which shall never fail.
4 Behold, for a witness to the peoples I have given him ;
A leader, and a lawgiver to the nations.
5 Behold, the nation, whom thou knewest not, thou shall
call ;
And the nation, who knew not thee, shall run unto thee.
For the sake of Jehovah thy God ;
And for the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified
thee.
6 S ok ye Jehovah, while he may be found ;
Call ye upon him, while; he is near at hand:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way.
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
€HAP. LV. ISAIAH. 107
And let him return unto Jehovah, for he will receive him
with compassion ;
And unto our God, for he aboundeth in forgiveness.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts ;
Neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah.
9 For as the lieavens are higher than the earth ;
So are my ways higher than your ways,
And my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 Verily, like as the rain descendeth,
And the snow, from the heavens ;
And thither it doth not return ;
But moisteneth the earth.
And maketh it generate, and put forth its increase ;
That it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the
eater:
11 So shall be the word, which goeth forth from my mouth ;
It shall not return unto me fruitless ;
But it shall effect what 1 have willed ;
And make the purpose succeed, for which I have sent it.
12 Surely with joy shall ye go foith.
And with peace shall ye be led onward :
The mountains and the hills shall burst forth before you
into song ;
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorny bushes shall grow up the fir-tree;
And instead of the bramble shall grow up the myrtle :
And it shall be unto Jehovah for a memorial ;
For a perpetual sign, which shall not be abolished.
chap. lvi.
1 Thus saith Jehovah :
Keep ye judgment, and practise righteousness ;
For my salvation is near, just ready to come ;
And my righteousness, to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the mortal that doeth this ;
And the son of man that holdelh it fast ;
That keepeth the sabbath, and profaneth it not ;
And restraineth his hand from doing evil.
3 And let not the son of the stranger speak,
That cleaveth unto Jehovah, snying :
Jehovah hath utterly separated me from his people.
108 ISAIAH. CHAP. LVl.
Neither let the eunuch say :
Behokl, I am a dry tree.
4 For thus saitli Jehovah to the eunuchs :
Whoever of them shall have kept my sabbaths,
Antl shall have chosen that in which 1 delight,
And shall have steadfastly maintained my covenant ;
5 To them 1 will give in my house,
And within my walls, a memorial and a name,
Better than that of sons and daughters:
An everlasting name will I give them,
Which shall never be cut off.
6 And the sons of the stranger, who cleave unto Jehovah ;
To minister unto him, and to love the name of Jehovah,
And to become his servants :
Every one that keepeth the sabbath, and profaneth it not ;
And that steadfastly maintaineth my covenant;
7 Them will 1 bring unto my holy mountain ;
And I will make them rejoice in my house of prayer:
Their burnt-oHerings and their sacriikes shall be accepted
on mine altar ;
For my house shall be called, The house of prayer for all
the peoples.
8 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah,
Who gathereth together the outcasts of Israel :
Yet will 1 gather others unto him, beside those that are
already gathered.
9 O all ye beasts of the field, come away ;
Come to devour, O all ye beasts of the forest !
10 His watchmen are blind, all of them ; the}' are igno-
rant ;
They are all of them dumb dogs, they cannot bark :
Dreamers, sluggards, loving to slumber.
11 Yea these dogs are of untamed appetite ;
They know not to be satisfied.
And the shepherds themselves cannot understand :
They all of them tinn aside to their own way ;
Each to his own lucre, from the highest to the lowest.
12 Come on, let us provide wine ;
And let us swill strong drink :
And as to-day, so shall be the cheer of to-morrow ;
Great, even far more abundant.
CHAP. LVII. ISAIAH. 109
CHAP. LVII.
1 The righteous man peiisheth, and no one considereth ;
And pious men are taken away, and no one understand-
eth,
That the righteous man is taken away, because of the evil.
2 He shall go in peace : he shall lest in his bed ;
Even the perfect man ; lie that walketh in the strait path.
3 But ye, draw ye near hither, O ye sons of the sorcer-
ess ;
Ye seed of the adulterer, and of the harlot !
4 Of whom do ye make your sport ?
At whom do ye widen the mouth, and loll the tongue ?
Are ye not apostate children, a false seed?
5 Burning with the lust of idols under every green tree;
Slaying the children in the vallies, under the clefts of the
rocks ?
6 Among the smooth stones of the valley is thy portion ;
These, these are thy lot :
Even to these hast thou poured out thy libation,
Hast thou presented thine offering.
Can I see these things with acquiescence ?
7 Upon a high and loliy mountain hast thou set thy bed :
Even thither hast thou gone up to otfer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the door-posts hast thou set thy me-
morial :
Thou hast departed from ine, and art gone up ; thou hast
enlarged thy bed ;
And thou hast made a covenant with them :
Thou hast loved their bed ; thou hast provided a place
for it.
9 And thou hast visited the king with a present of oil;
And hast multiplied thy precious ointments :
And thou hast sent thine ambassadors afar ;
And hast debased thyself even to Hades.
10 In the length of thy journeys thou hast wearied thyself;
Thou hast said. There is no hope :
Thou hast found the support of thy hfe by thy labour:
Therefore thou hasi not utterly fainted.
11 And of whom hast thou been so anxiously afraid, that
thou shouldst thus deal falsely?
And hast not remembered me, nor revolved it in thy
mind ?
110 ISAIAH. CHAP. LVIl.
Is it not because I was silent, and winked ; and thou
fearest me not ?
12 But I will declare my righteousness ;
And thy deeds shall not avail thee.
13 When thou criest, let thine associates deliver thee:
But the wind shall bear them away ; a breath shall take
them off.
But he that trusteth in me shall inherit the land,
And shall possess my holy mountain.
14 Then will I say : Cast up, cast up the causeway ;
make clear the way ;
Remove every obstruction from the road of my people.
15 For thus saith Jehovah, the high, and the' lofty ;
Inhabiting eternity ; and whose name is the Holy One :
The high and the holy place will I inhabit ;
And with the contrite, and humble of spirit :
To revive the s|)irit of the humble ;
And to give life to the heart of the contrite.
IG For I will not alwny contend ;
Neither for ever will I be wroth :
For the spirit from before me would be overwhelmed ;
And the living souls, which I have made.
17 Because of his inicjuity for a short time I was wroth :
And I smote him ; hiding my face in mine anger.
And he departed, turniiig back in the way of his own heart.
18 1 have seen his ways ; and I will heal him, and will be
his guide ;
And I will restore comforts, to him, and to his mourners.
19 I create the fruit of the lips :
Peace, peace, to him that is near.
And to him that is afar off, saith Jehovah ; and I will
heal him.
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea ;
For it never can l)e at rest ;
But its waters work up filth and mire.
21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
CHAP. LVIIl.
1 Cry aloud ; spare not :
Like a trunn)(>t lift up thy voice :
And declare unto my people their transgression ;
And to the house of Jacob their sin.
CHAP. LVIII. ISAIAH. Ill
2 Yet me day after day they seek ;
And to know my ways they take delight :
As a nation that doeth righteousness,
And halh not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They continually inquire of me concerning the ordinances
of righteousness ;
They take delight to draw nigh imto God.
3 Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not ?
Flave we afflicted our souls, and thou dost not regard ?
Behold, in the day of your fasting, ye enjoy your pleas-
ure ;
And all your demands of labour ye rigorously exact.
4 Behold, ye fast for strife and contention ; '
And to smite with the fist the poor.
Wherefore fast ye unto me in this manner ;
To make your voice to be heard on high ?
5 Is such then t!ie fast which I choose ;
That a man should afflict his soul for a day?
Is it, that he should bow down his head like a bulrush ;
And spread sackcloth and ashes for his couch ?
Shall this be called a fast,
And a day acceptable to Jehovah ?
6 Is not this the fast which I choose ?
To dissolve the bands of Avickedness ;
To loosen the oppressive burthens ;
To deliver those that are crushed by violence ;
And that ye should break asunder every yoke ?
7 Is it not to distribute thy bread to the hungry ;
And to bring the wandering poor into thy house ?
When thou seest the naked, that thou clothe him ;
And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh ?
8 Then shall thy light break forth hke the morning
And thy wounds shall speedily be healed over :
And thy righteousness shall go before thee ;
And the glory of Jehovah shall bring up thy rear.
9 Then shall thou call, and Jehovah shall answer ;
Thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Lo I am here !
If thou remove from the midst of thee the yoke ;
The pointing of t!ie finger, and the injurious speech :
10 If thou bring forth thy bread to the hungry,
And satisfy the afflicted soul ;
Then shall thy light rise in obscurity,
And thy darkness shall be as the noon-day.
112 ISAIAH. CHAP. LVIII.
11 And Jehovah shall lead thee continually,
And satisfy thy sou! in the severest drought ;
And he shall renew thy strength :
And thou shall be like a well-watered garden, and like a
flowing spring,
AVhose waters shall never fail.
12 And they that spring from thee shall build the ancient
ruins ;
The foundations of old times shall they raise up :
And thou shalt be called the repairer of tlie broken
mound ;
The restorer of paths to be frequented by inhabitants.
13 If thou restrain tliy foot from the sabbath ;
From doing thy pleasure on my holy day :
And shalt call the sabbath, a delight;
And the holy feast of Jehovah, lionoural)le :
And shalt honour it, by relraining from thy purpose ;
From pursuing thy pleasure, and from speaking vain
words :
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah ;
And I will make thee ride on the high places of the
earth ;
And I will feed thee on the inheritance of Jacob thy
father :
For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
CHAP. I.IX.
1 Behold, the hand of Jehovah is not contracted, so
that he cannot save ;
Neither is his ear grown didl, so that he cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have made a separation
Between you and your God ;
And your sins have hidden
His face from you, that he doth not hear.
3 For yoin- hands are polluted with l)lood,
And your fingers with iniquity ;
Your lips speak falsehood,
And your tongue miitterolh wickedness.
4 No one prcferreth his suit in justice,
And no one |)leadeth in truth :
Trusting in vanity, and speaking lies ;
Conceiving mischief, and bringing forth ini(iuity.
CHAP. LIX. ISAIAH.
113
5 They hatch the eggs of the basihsk,
And weave the web of the spider :
He that eateth of their eggs dieth ;
And when it is crushed, a viper breaketh forth.
6 Of their webs no garment shall be made ;
Neither shall they cover themselves with their works :
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the deed of violence is in their hands.
7 Their feet run swiftly to evil,
And (hey hasten to shed innocent blood :
Their devices are devices of iniquity ;
Destruction and calamity is in their paths.
S The way of peace they know not ;
Neither is there any judgment in their tracks :
They have made to themselves crooked paths ;
Whoever goeth in them, knoweth not peace.
9 Therefore is judgment far distant from us ;
Neither doth justice overtake us :
We look for liglit, but behold darkness ;
For brightness, but we walk in obscurity.
10 We grope for the wall, like the blind ;
And we wander, as those that are deprived of sight :
We stumble at mid-day, as in the twilight ;
In the midst of delicacies, as among the dead.
11 We groan all of us, like the bears ;
And like the doves, we make a continued moan.
We look for judgment, and there is none ;
For salvation, and it is far distant from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee ;
And our sins bring an accusation against us :
For our transgressions cleave fast unto us ;
And our iniquities we acknowledge.
13 By rebelling, and lying, against Jehovah ;
And by turning backward from following our God :
By speaking injury, and conceiving revolt ;
And by meditating from the heart lying words.
14 And judgment is turned away backwards ;
And justice standeth aloof:
For truth hath stumbled in the open street ;
And rectitude hath not been able to enter.
15 And truth is utterly lost ;
And he that shunneth evil, exposeth himself to be
plundered :
15*
114 ISAIAH. CHAP, LIX.
And Jehovah saw it,
And it displeased him, that there was no judgment.
16 And he saw, that tliere was no man ;
And he wondered, that there was no one to interpose:
Then his own arm wrought salvation for him ;
And his righteousness, it supported him.
17 And he put on righteousness, as a hreast-plate ;
And the lielmet of salvation was on his head :
And he put on the garments of vengeance for his cloth-
ing ;
And he clad himself with zeal, as with a mantle.
18 He is mighty to recompense ;
He that is mighty to recompense will requite :
Wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies ;
To the distant coasts a recompense will he requite.
19 And they from the west shall revere the name of Jeho-
vah ;
And they from the rising of the sun, his glory ;
When he shall come, like a river straitened in his course,
Which a strong wind driveth along.
20 And the Redeemer shall come to Sion ;
And shall turn away iniquity from Jacob ; saith Jeho-
vah.
21 And this is the covenant, whicli I make with them,
saith Jehovah :
My spirit, which is upon thee,
And my words, which I have put in thy mouth ;
They shall not dej)art from thy mouth.
Nor from the mouth of thy seed.
Nor frou) the mouth of th}'^ seed's seed, saith Jehovah ;
From this time forth for ever.
chap. lx.
1 AiiisK, be thou enlightened ; for thy light is come ;
And the glory of Jkhovah is risen upon thee.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth ;
And a thick vapour the nations :
And upon thee shall Jehovah arise ;
And his glory upon thee shall be conspicuous.
3 And the nations shall walk in thy light ;
And kings in the brightness of thy sun-rising.
4 Lift u|) thine eyes round al)out, and see ;
All of them are gathered together, they come unto thee :
CHAP. LX.
ISAIAH. 115
Thy sons shall come from afar;
And thy daughters shall be carried at the side.
5 Then shalt thou fear, and overflow with joy ;
And thy heart shall be ruffled, and dilated ;
When the riches of the sea shall be poured in upon thee ;
When the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee.
6 An inundation of camels shall cover thee ;
The dromedaries of Midian and Epha ;
All of them from Saba shall come :
Gold and frankincense shall they bear ;
And the praise of Jehovah shall they joyfully proclaim.
7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered unto thee ;
Unto thee shall the rams of Nebaioth minister :
They shall ascend with acceptance on mine altar ;
And my beauteous house I will yet beautify.
8 Wlio are these, that fly like a cloud l
And Uke doves upon the wing ?
9 Verily the distant coasts shall await me ;
And the ships of Tarshish among the first :
To bring thy sons from afar ;
Their silver and their gold with them :
Because of the name of Jehovah thy God ;
And of the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified
thee.
10 And the sons of the stranger shall build up thy walls;
And their kings shall minister unto thee :
For in my wrath I smote thee ;
But in my favour I will embrace thee with the most
tender affection.
11 And thy gates shall be open continually ;
By day, or by night, they shall not be shut :
To bring unto thee the wealth of the nations ;
And that their kings may come pompously attended.
12 For that nation, and that kingdom,
Which will not serve thee, shall perish ;
Yea, those nations shall be utterly desolated.
13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee ;
The tir-tree, the pine, and the box together :
To adorn the place of my sanctuary ;
And that I may glorify the place, whereon I rest my
feet.
14 And the sons of thine oppressors shall come bending be-
fore thee ;
116 ISAIAH. CHAP. LX.
And all, that scornfully rejected thee, shall do obeisance to
the soles of thy feet :
And they shall call thee, The City of Jehovah ;
The Sion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 Instead of thy being forsaken,
And hated, so that no one passed through thee ;
I will make thee an everlasting boast ;
A subject of joy for perpetual generations.
16 And thou shaltsuck the milk of nations ;
Even at the breast of kings shalt thou be fostered :
And thou shalt know, that I Jehovah am thy saviour ;
And that thy redeemer is the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of brass, I will bring gold ;
And instead of iron, 1 will bring silver :
And instead of wood, brass ;
And instead of stones, iron.
And I will make thine inspectors peace ;
And thine exactors, righteousness.
18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land ;
Destruction and calamity, in thy borders :
But thou shalt call thy walls, Salvation ;
And thy gates. Praise.
19 No longer shalt thou have the sun for a hght by day :
Nor by night shall the brightness of the moon enlighten
thee :
For Jehovah shall be to thee an everlasting hght.
And thy God shall be thy glory.
20 Thy sun shall no more go down ;
Neither shall thy moon wane :
For Jkiiovah shall be thine everlasting light ;
And the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
21 And thy people shall be all righteous ;
For ever shall they possess the land :
The cion of my planting, the work of my hands, that I
may be glorified.
22 The little one shall become a thousand ;
And the small one a strong nation :
I Jehovah in due time will hasten it.
CHAP. LXI. ISAIAH. 117
CHAP. LXI.
1 The spirit of Jehovah is upon me,
Because Jehovah hath anointed me.
To publish glad tidings to the meek hath he sent me ;
To bind up the broken hearted :
To proclaim to the captives freedom ;
And to the bounden, perfect liberty :
2 To proclaim the year of acceptance with Jehovah ;
And the day of vengeance of our God.
To comfort all those that mourn ;
3 To impart [gladness] to the mourners of Sion :
To give them a beautiful crown, instead of ashes ;
The oil of gladness instead of sorrow ;
The clothing of praise, instead of the spirit of heaviness.
That they may be called trees approved ;
The plantation of Jehovah for his glor3^
4 And they that spring from thee shall build up the ruins
of old times;
They shall restore the ancient desolations :
They shall repair the cities laid waste ;
The desolations of continued ages.
5 And strangers shall stand up and feed your flocks;
And the sons of the alien shall be your husbandmen and
vine-dressers.
6 But ye shall be called the priests of Jehovah ;
The ministers of our God, shall be your title.
The riches of the nations shall ye eat ;
And in their glory shall ye make your boast.
7 Itistead of your shame, ye shall receive a double inheri-
tance ;
And of your ignominy, ye shall rejoice in their portion:
For in their land a double share shall ye inherit;
And everlasting gladness shall ye possess.
8 For I am Jehovah, who love judgment ;
Who hate rapine and iniquity :
And I will give them the reward of their work with
faithfulness ;
And an everlasting covenant I will make with them :
9 And their seed shall be illustrious among the nations ;
And their offspring, in the midst of the peoples.
And they that see then] shall acknowledge them,
That they are a seed which Jehovah hath blessed.
118 ISAIAH. CHAP. LIX.
10 I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah ;
My soul sliall exult in my God.
For lie hatli clothed me with the garments of salvation ;
He hath covered me with the mantle of righteousness :
As the bridegroom decketh himself with a priestly crown ;
And as the bride adorneth herself with her costly jew^els.
11 Surely, as the earth pusheth forth her tender shoots ;
And as a garden maketh her seed to germinate :
So shall the Lord Jehovah cause righteousness to spring
forth ;
And praise, in the presence of all the nations.
CHAP. LXII.
1 For Sion's sake I will not keep silence ;
And for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest :
Until her righteousness break forth as a strong light ;
And her salvation, like a blazing torch.
2 And the nations shall see thy righteousness ;
And all the kings, thy glory :
And thou shalt be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of Jehovah shall fix upon thee.
3 And thou shalt be a beautiful crown in the hand of Je-
hovah ;
And a royal diadem in the grasp of thy God.
4 ISo more shall it be said unto thee, Thou forsaken !
Neither to thy land shall it be said any more, Thou de-
solate !
But thou shalt be called. The object of my delight ;
And thy land, The wedded matron :
For Jehovah shall delight in thee ;
And ihy land shall be joined in marriage.
5 For as a young man weddeth a virgin,
So shall thy restorer wed thee :
And as the bridegroom rejoicelh in his bride.
So shall thy God rejoice in thee.
6 Upon thy walls, O Jorusaleiu, •
Have I set watchiuen all the day;
And all the night long they shall not keep silence.
O ye, that proclaim the name of Jehovah !
7 Keep not silence yourselves, nor let him rest in silence ;
CHAP. LXII. ISAIAH. 119
Until he establish, and until he render,
Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
8 Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by his
powerful arm :
I will no more give thy corn for food to thine enemies ;
Nor shall the sons of the stranger drink thy must, for
which thou hast labored :
9 But they, that reap the harvest, shall eat it, and praise
Jehovah ;
And they, that gather the vintage, shall drink it in my
sacred courts.
10 Pass ye, pass through the gates ; prepare the way for
the people !
Cast ye up, cast up the causeway ; clear it from the
stones !
Lift up on high a standard to the nations !
11 Behold, Jehovah hath thus proclaimed to the end of
the earl h :
Siay ye to the daughter of Sion. Lo thy saviour coineth !
Lo ! his reward is with him, and the recompense of his
work before him.
And they shall be called. The holy people, the redeemed
of Jehovah ;
12 And thou shalt be called, The much desired, The city
unforsaken.
CHAP. LXIII.
1 cho. Who is this, that cometh from Edorn?
Wiih garments deeply dyed from Botsra'/
This, that is magnificent in his apparel ;
Marching on in the greatness of his strength ?
MES. Ij who publish righteousness, and am mighty to
save.
2 cho. Wherefore is thine apparel red ?
And thy garments, as of one that treadeth the
w4ne-vat 'I
3 MES. I have trodden the vat alone ;
And of the peoples there was not a man with me.
And I trod them in mine anger;
And I trampled them in mine indignation :
And their life-blood was sprinkled upon iny gar-
ments :
120 ISAIAH. CHAP. LXin.
And I have stained all mine apparel.
4 For the day of vengeance was in my heart ;
And the year of my redeemed was come.
5 And 1 looked, and tiiere was no one to help;
And 1 was astonished, that there was no one to
uphold :
Therefore mine own arm wrought salvation for me,
And mine indignation itself sustained me.
6 And I trod down the peoples in mine anger ;
And I crushed them in mine indignation ;
And I spilled their life-blood on the ground.
7 The mercies of Jehovah will I record, the praise of
Jehovah ;
According to all that Jehovah hath bestowed upon us :
And the greatness of his goodness to the house of Israel ;
Which he hath bestowed upon them, through his ten-
derness and great kindness.
8 For he said : Surely they are my people, children that
will not prove false ;
And he became their saviour in all their distress.
9 It was not an envoy, nor an angel of his presence, that
saved them :
Through his love, and his indulgence, he himself re-
deemed them ;
And he took them up, and he bare them, all the days
of old.
10 But they rebelled, and grieved his holy spirit ;
So that he became their enemy ; and he fought against
them.
11 And he remembered the days of old, Moses his servant ;
How he brought them up from the sea, with the shep-
herd of his Hock ;
How he placed in his breast his holy spirit :
12 Making his glorious arm to attend Moses on his right
hand in his march ;
Cleaving the waters before them, to make himself a name
everlasting ;
13 Leading them through the abyss, like a courser in the
plain, without obstacle.
14 As the herd descendcth to the valley, the spirit of Je-
hovah conducted them :
CHAP. LXIII. ISAIAH. ^ 121
So didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a name il-
lustrious.
15 Lack down from heaven, and see, from thy holy and
glorious dwelling :
Where is thy zeal, and thy mighty power ;
The yearning of thy bowels, and thy tender affections'?
are tiiey restrained from us ?
16 Verily, Thou art our father ; for Abraham knoweth us not,
And Israel doth not acknowledge us.
Thou, 0 Jehovah, art our father :
O deliver us for the sake of thy name !
17 Wherefore, O Jehovah, dost thou suffer us to err from
thy ways ?
To harden our hearts from the fear of thee ?
Return for the sake of thy servants ;
For the sake of the tribes of thine inheritance.
18 It is little, that they have taken possession of thy holy
mountain ;
That our enemies have trodden down thy sanctuary:
19 We have long been as those, whom thou hast not rule.d j
Who have not been called by tliy name.
CHAP. LXIV.
1 O ! that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou
wouldst descend ;
That the mountains might flow down at thy presence !
2 As the fire kindleth the dry fuel ;
As the firecauseth the waters to boil:
To make known thy name to thine enemies ;
Tiiat the nations might tremble at thy presence.
3 When thou didst wonderful things, which we expected
not ;
Thou didst descend ; at thy presence the mountains flowec
down.
4 For never have men heard, nor perceived by the ear,
Nor hath eye seen, a God beside thee,
Who doeth such things for those that trust in him.
5 Thou meetest with joy those who work righteousness ;
Who in thy ways remember thee.
Lo ! Thou art angry ; for we have sinned :
Because of oiu' deeds ; for we have been rebellious.
6 And we are all of us as a polluted thing ;
And like a rejected garment are all our righteous deeds :
16
122 « ISAIAH. CHAP. LXIV,
And we are withered away, like a leaf, all of us ;
And our sin^, like the wind, have borne us away,
7 There is no one that invokcth thy name ;
That rousetli himself up to lay hold on thee :
Therefore thou hast hidden thy face from us ;
And iiast delivered us up into the hand of our iniquities.
8 But thou, O Jehovah, thou art our father;
We are the clay, and thou hast formed us :
We are all of us the work of thy hands.
9 Be not wroth, O Jehovah, to the uttermost ;
Nor forever remember ini(|uity.
Behold, look upon us, we beseech thee ; we are all thy
people.
10 Thy holy cities are become a wilderness ;
Sion is become a wilderness ; Jerusalem is desolate.
11 Our holy and glorious temple,
Wherein our fathers praised thee,
Is utterly burnt up \vi(h fire ;
And all the objects of our desire are become a devasta-
tion.
12 Wilt thou contain thyself at these things, O Jehovah?
Wilt thou keep silence, and still grievously afflict us 1
chap. lxv.
1 I am made known to those, that asked not for me ;
I am found of those, that sought me not :
I have said : Behold me, here I am.
To the nation, which never invoked my name :
2 I have stretched out my hands all the day to a rebellioua
people.
Who walk in an evil way, after their own devices.
3 A people, who provoke me to my face continually ;
Sacrificing in the gardens, and burning incense on the
tiles :
4 Who dwell in the sepulchres, and lodge in the caverns ;
Who eat the flesh of the swine ;
And the broth of abominable meats- is in their vessels:
5 Who say : Keep to thyself ; come not near me ; for I am
holier than thou.
These kindle a smoke in my nostrils, a fire burning all
the day long.
6 Behold, this is recorded in writing before me:
1 will not keep silence, but will certainly requite ;
CHAP. LXV. ISAIAH. • 123
7 I will requite into their bosom their iniquities ;
And the iniquities of their fathers together, saith Jeho-
vah :
Who burnt incense on the mountains, and dishonoured
me upon the hills :
Yea, I will pour into their bosom the full measure of their
former deeds.
8 Thus saith Jehovah :
As when one findeth a good grape in the cluster ;
And sayeth, Destroy it not ; for a blessing is in it :
So will I do for the sake of my servants ; I will not de-
stroy the whole.
9 So will 1 bring forth from Jacob a seed ;
And from Judah an inheritor of my mountain :
And my chosen shall inherit the land ;
And my servants shall dwell there.
10 And Sharon shall be a fold for the flock.
And the valley of Achor a resting for the herd ;
For my people, who have sought after me.
11 But ye, who have deserted Jehovah ;
And have forgotten mj^ holy mountain :
Who set in order a table for Gad ;
And fill out a libation to Meni :
12 You will I number out to the sword ;
And all of you shall bow down to the slaughter.
Because I called, and ye answered not ;
I spake, and ye would not hear :
But ye did that, which is evil in my sight ;
And that, in which I delighted not, ye chose.
13 Wherefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah :
Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be famished ;
Behold, my servants shall drink, but ye sliall be thirsty ;
Behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be con-
founded :
14 Behold, my servants shall sing aloud, for gladness of
heart ;
But ye shall cry aloud, for grief of heart ;
And in the anguish of a broken spirit shall ye howl.
15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse to my chosen :
And the Lord Jehovah shall slay you ;
And his servants shall he call by another name.
124 • ISAIAH. CHAP. LXV.
16 Whoso blesselh liimsclf upon the earlli,
Shall bless himself in the God of truih ;
And whoso sweureth upon the earth,
Shall swear by the God of truth.
Because the former provocations are forgotten ;
And because they arc hidden from mine eyes.
17 For behold. I create new heavens, and a new earth :
And the former ones shall not be remembered,
' Neither shall (hey be brought to mind any more.
18 But ye shall rejoice and exult' in the age to come, which
I cieate :
For lo ! I create Jerusalem a subject of joy, and her
people of gladness ;
19 And 1 will exult in Jerusalem, and rejoice in my people.
And there shall not be heard any more therein,
The voice of weeping, and the voice of a distressful cry :
20 No more shall be there an infant short-lived ;
Nor an old man who hath not fulfilled his days ;
For he, that dieth at an hundred years, shall die a boy ;
And the sinner that dieth at an hundred years, shall be
deemed accursed.
21 And they shall build houses, and shall inhabit them ;
And llicy shall plant vineyards, and shall eat the fruit
thereof
22 They shall not build, and another inhabit ;
They shall not plant, and another eat :
For as the days of a tree shall be. the days of my people;
And they shall wear out the works of their own hands.
23 My chosen shall not labovn- in vain ;
Neither shall they generate a sliort-livcd race:
For they shall be a seed blessed of Jehovah ;
They, and their olTspring with them.
24 And it shall be, that before they call, 1 will answer ;
They shall l)e yet speaking, and I shall ha\e heard.
25 The wolf and the lumb shall feed together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox :
But as for the ser|>ent, dust shall be his food.
They shall not hurt, neither shall they destro)'',
In all my holy mountain, saiih Jkhovah.
CHAP. LXVI.
ISAIAH. 125
CHAP. LXVI.
1 Thus saith Jehovah :
The heavens are my throne ; and the earth is my foot-
stool :
"Where is this house, which ye build for me ?
And where is this place of my rest?
2 For all these things my hand hath made ;
And all these things are mine, saith Jehovah.
But such a one wnll I regard, even him that is humble,
And of a contrite spirit, and that revereth my word.
3 He that slayeth an ox, killeth a man ;
That sacrificeth a lamb, beheadeth a dog ;
That maketli an oblation, [offereth] swine's blood ;
That burnetii incense, blesseth an idol :
Yea, they themselves have chosen their own ways ;
And in their abominations their soul delightetb.
4 I will also choose their calamities ; .
And what they dread, I will bring upon them ;
Because I called, and no one answered ;
I spake, and they would not hear :
And they have done what is evil in my sight ;
And that, in which I delighted not, they have chosen.
5 Hear ye the word of Jehovah, ye that revere hia
word :
Say ye to your brethren, that hate you ;
And that thrust you out, for my name's sake :
Jehovah will be glorified, and he will appear ;
To your joy [will he appear], and they shall be con-
founded.
6 A voice of tumult from the city ! a voice from the
temple !
The voice of Jehovah ! rendering recompense to his
enemies.
7 Before she was in travail, she brought forth ;
Before her pangs came, she was delivered of a male.
8 Who hath heard such a thing ? and who hath seen th
like of these thins^s ?
Is a country brought forth in one day ?
Is a nation born in an instant ?
16*
126 ISAIAH. CHAP. LXVI.
For no sooner was Sion in travail, than she hrought
forlii iier children.
9 Shall 1 bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth ?
saith Jehovah :
Shall I, who beget, restrain the birth? saith thy God.
10 Rejoice with Jerusalem, and exult on her account, all ye
that love her ;
Be exceedingly joyful with her, all ye that mourn over
V l^Tlmt
] her
ye may suck, and be satisfied, from the breast of
consolations ;
That ye may draw forth the delicious nourishment from
her abundant stores.
12 For thus saith Jehovah :
Behold, I spread over her prosperity, like the great
river ;
And like the overflowing stream the wealth of the na-
tions :
And ye shall suck at the breast ;
Ye shall be carried by the side ;
And on the knees shall ye be dandled.
13 As one, whom his mother comfortcth,
So will I comfort you :
And in Jerusalem shall )'^e receive consolation.
14 And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice ;
And your bones shall flourish, like the green herb:
And the hand of Jehovah shall be manifested to his
servants ;
And he will be moved with indignation against his ene-
mies.
15 For, behold ! Jehovah shall come, as a fire ;
And his chariot, as a whirlwind :
To breathe forth his anger in a burning heat,
And his rebuke in flames of fire.
16 For by fire shall Jkhovah execute judgment ;
And by his sword, upon all flesh :
And many shall be the slain of Jehovah.
17 They who sanctify themselves, and purify themselves,
In the gardens, after the rites of Achad ;
111 the midst of those who eat swine's flesh,
And the abomination, and the field-mouse ;
CHAP. LXVI. ISAIAH. 127
Together shall they perish, saith Jehovah.
18 For I know their deeds, and their devices :
And I come to gather all the nations and tongues to-
gether ;
And they shall come, and shall see my glory.
19 And I will impart to them a sign ;
And of those that escape I will send to the nations:
To Tarshish, Phul, and Lud, who draw the bow ;
Tubal, and Javan, the far distant coasts :
To those, who never heard my name ;
And who never saw my glory :
And they shall declare my glory among the nations.
20 And they shall bring all your brethren,
From all the nations, for an oblation to Jehovah ;
On horses, and in litters, and in counes ;
On mules, and on dromedaries ;
To iny holy mountain Jerusalem, saith Jehovah :
Like as the sons of Israel brought the oblation,
In pure vessels, to the house of Jehovah.
21 And of them will I also take,
For priests, and for Levites, saith Jehovah.
22 For like as the new heavens,
And the new earth, which I make.
Stand continually before ine, saith Jehovah ;
So shall continue your seed, and your name.
23 And it shall be, from new moon to new moon,
And from sabbath to sabbath ;
All flesh shall come to worship before me, saith Jeho-
vah.
24 And they shall go forth, and shall see
The carcasses of the men who rebelled against me.
For their worm shall not die.
And their fire shall not be quenched ;
And they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.
NOTES
I S A I A
Isaiah exercised the proplieticdl office during- a long period
of linie. if he lived to tlie reign of Manasseh ; for the lowest
computation, beginning from the year in which Uzziah died,
when some suppose him to have received his first appoint-
ment to that office, brings it to 61 j'ears. But the tradition
of the Jews, that he was put to death by Manasseh, is very
uncertain ; and one of their principnl rabbins (Aben Ezra,
Com. in Isa. i. 1.) seems rather to think, that he died before
Hezekiah ; which is indeed more probable. It is however
certain, that he lived at least to the 15lh or 16th year of
Hezekiah : this makes the least possible term of the duration
of his prophetical office about 48 years. Tire time of the
delivery of some of his prophecies is either expressly marked,
or sufficiently clear from the liistory to which they relate :
that of a few others may with some probability be deduced
from internal marks ; from expressions, descriptions, and
circumstances interwoven. It may therefore be of some use
in this respect, and for the better understanding of his pro-
phecies in general, to give here a sununary view of the his-
tory of his time.
The kingdom of Judah seems to have been in a more
flourishing condition during the reigns of Uzziah and Jo-
thain, than at any other time after the revolt of the ten
tribes. The forn)er recovered the port of Elath on the Red
Sea, which the Edomites had taken in the reign of Joram :
he was successful in his wars with the Philistines, and took
from them several cities, Gath. Jabneh, Ashdod ; as hkewise
against some people of Arabia Deserta ; and against the
Ammonites, whom he compelled to pay him tribute. He
repaired and improved the fortifications of Jerusalem ; and
130 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. I.
had a great army well appointed and disciplined. He was
no less attentive to the arts of peace ; and very much en-
couraged agriculture, and the breeding of cattle. Jotham
maintained the establishments and iujprovements made by
his father ; added to what Uzziah had done in strengthen-
ing the frontier places ; conquered the Ammonites, who had
revolted, and exacted from them a more stated and pro-
bably a larger tribute. However, at the latter end of his
time, the league between Pekah king of Israel and Retsin
king of Syria was formed against Judah ; and they began
to carry their designs into execution.
But in the reign of Ahaz his son, not only all these ad-
vantages were lost, but the kingdom of Judah was brought
to the brink of destruction. Pekah king of Israel overthrew
the army of Ahaz, who lost in battle 120,000 men ; and
the IsraeUtes carried away captives 200,000 women and
children ; which however were released, and sent home
again, upon the remonstrance of the prophet Oded. After
this, as it should seem, (see Vitringa on chap. vii. 2.), the two
kings of Israel and Syria, joining their forces, laid siege to
Jerusalem ; but in this attempt they failed of success. In
this distress Ahaz called in the assistance of Tiglath-Pileser
kino- of Assyria ; who invaded the kingdoms of Israel and
Syiia, and slew Retsin : but he was more in danger than ever
from his too powerful ally ; to purchase whose forbearance,
as he had before bought his assistance, he was forced to strip
himself and his people of all the wealth he could possibly
raise, from his own treasury, from the temple, and from the
country. About the time of the seige of Jerusalem, the
Syrians took Elath, which was never after recovered. The
Edomites likewise, taking advantage of the distress of Ahaz,
ravaged Judea, and carried away many captives. The Phi-
listines recovered what they had before lost ; and took many
places in Judea, and maintained themselves there. Idolatry
was estabhshed by the command of the king in Jerusalem,
and throughout Judea; and the service of the temple was
either intermitted, or converted into an idolatrous worship.
llezekiah, his son, at his accession to the throne, imme-
diately set about the restoration of the legal worship of TJod,
both in Jerusalem and through Judea. He cleansed and
repaired the temple, and held a solemn passover. He im-
proved the city, repaired the fortifications, erected magazines
of all sorts, and built a new aqueduct. In the fourth year of
CHAP. I.
NOTES ON ISAIAH. 131
his reign, Shalmaneser king of Assyria invaded the kingdom
of Israel, took Samaria, and carried away the Israelites into
captivity ; and replaced them by different people sent ffom
his own country ; and this was the final destruction of that
kingdom, in the sixth year of the reign of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah was not deterred by this alarming example
from refusing to pay the tribute to the king of Assyria,
which had been imposed on Ahaz. This brought on the in-
vasion of Senacherib in the fourteenth year of his reign ; an
account of which is inserted among the prophecies of Isaiah.
After a great and miraculous deliverance from so powerful
an enemy, Hezekiah continued his reign in peace : he pros-
pered in all his works, and left his kingdom in a flourishing
state to his son Manasseh ; a son in every respect unworthy
of such a father.
CHAPTER I.
1. The vision of Isaiah — ] It seems doubtful, whether
this title belong to the whole book, or only to the prophecy
contained in this chapter. The former part of the title
seems properly to belong to this particular prophecy : the
latter part, which enumerates the kings of Judah, under
whom Isaiah exercised his prophetical office, seems to ex-
tend it to the whole collection of prophecies delivered in
the course of his ministry. Vitringa (to whom the w'orld
is greatly indebted for his learned labours on this Prophet ;
and to whom we should have owed much more, if he had
not so totally devoted himself to Masoreiic authority) has,
I think, very judiciously resolved this doubt. He supposes,
that the former part of the title was originally prefixed to
this single prophecy ; and that, when the collection of all
Isaiah's prophecies was made, the enumeration of the kings
of Judah was added, to make it at the same time a proper
title to the whole book. As such it is plainly taken in 2
Chron. xxxii. 32. where the book of Isaiah is cited by this
title : " The vision of Isaiah the Prophet, the son of
Amots."
The prophecy contained in this first chapter stands single
and unconnected, making an entire piece of itself. It con-
tains a severe remonstrance against the corruptions pre-
vailing among the Jews of that time ; powerful exhortations
132
NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. I.
to repentance; grievous threatenings to the impenitent;
and gracious promises of better limes, when the nation shall
have been reformed by the just judgments of God. The
expression upon the whole is clear ; the connexion of the
several parts easy ; and, in regard to the images, sentiments,
and style, it gives a beautiful example of the Prophet's
elegant manner of writing; though perhaps it may not be
equal in these respects to many of the following prophecies.
2. Hear, O ye heavens — ] God is introduced as enter-
ing upon a solemn and public action, or pleading, before
the whole world, against his disobedient people. I'he pro-
phet, as herald, or officer to proclaim the summons to the
court, calls upon all cieated beings, celestial and teirestrial,
to attend, and bear witness to the truth of his plea, and the
justice of his cause. The same scene is more fully displayed
in the noble exordium of Psalm 1. where God summons
all mankind, from east to west, to be present to hear his
appeal ; and the solemnity is held on Sion, where he is at-
tended with the same terrible pomp that accompanied him
on mount Sinai : —
"A consuming fire goes before him,
And round him rages a violent tempest:
He calletli the heavens from above,
And the earth, that he may contend in judgment with his
people." Psal. 1. 3, 4.
By the same bold figure, Micah calls upon the mountains,
that is, the whole country of Judea, to attend to him : Chap,
vi. 1, 2.
"Arise, plead thou before the mountains,
And let the hills iiear thy voice.
Hear, O ye mountains, the controversy of Jehovah;
And ye, O ye strong foundations of the earth:
For Jehovah hath a controversy with his {leoplc,
And he will plead his cause against Israel."
With the like invocation Moses introduces his sublime
song ; the design of which was the same as that of this pro-
phecy, " to testify, as a witness, against the Israelites," for
th(Mr disobedience, Dent. xxxi. 21.
" Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak;
And let the earth hear the Avords of my mouth."
Deut. xxxii. 1.
This in the simple yet strong oratorical style of oMoscs is,
" I call heaven and earth to witness against thee this day :
CHAP. I. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 133
life and death have I set before thee ; the blessing and the
curse : choose now life, that thou niayest live, tliou and thy
seed." Deut. xxx. 19. The poetical style, by an apostrophe,
sets the personification in a much stronger light.
Ibid. — tlcat speaJceih] I render it in the present time,
pointino- it ^m. There seems to be an impropriety in de-
manding attention to a speech already delivered.
Ibid. / have nourished — ] The LXX have efewTiirx^ I
have be^-otten. Instead of 'n^nj, they read \"\"iV ; a word
little diliering from the other, and perhaps more proper:
which the Chaldee likewise seems to favour ; " vocavi eos
filios." See Exod. iv. 22. Jen xxxi. 9.
3. The ox knowetfi — ] An amplification of the gross in-
sensibilit}'^ of the disobedient Jews, by comparing them with
the most heavy and stupid of all animals, yet not so insensible
as they. Bochart has well illustrated the comparison, and
shewn the peculiai; force of it. " He sets them lower than
the beasts, and even than the stupidest of all beasts ; for
there is scarce any more so than the ox and the-ass. Yet
these acknowledge their master ; they know the manger of
their lord : by whom they are i'ed, not for their own, but for
bis good ; neither are they looked upon as children, but as
beasts of burthen ; neither are they advanced to honours,
but oppressed with great and daily labours : While the Is-
raelites, chosen by the mere favour of God, adopted as sons,
promoted to the highest dignity, yet acknowledged not their
Lord and their God ; but despised his commandments,
though in the highest degree equitable and just." Hieroz. i.
col. 409.
Jeremiah's comparison to the same purpose is equally
elegant ; but has not so much spirit and severity as this of
Isaiah : —
" Even the stork in the heavens knoweth her season ;
And the turtle, and the swallow, and the crane, observe the
time of their coming :
But my people doth not know the judgment of Jehovah."
Jer. viii. 7.
Hosea has given a very elegant turn to the same image, in
the way of metaphor or allegory :
" I drew them with human cords, with the bands of love:
And I was to them, as he that lifteth up the yoke upon their
cheek;
And I laid down their fodder before them." Hosea, xi, 4.
17
134 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. I.
Salomo ben Melech thus explains the middle part of the
verse, which is somewhat obscure : " I was to them at their
desire, as they that have compassion on a heifer, lest she
be over-worked in ploughing ; and that lift up the yoke
from off her neck, and rest it upon her cheek, that she may
not still draw, but rest from her labour an hour or two in
the day."
Ibid. Btit Israel — ] The LXX, Syriac, Aquila, Theo-
dotion, and Vulgate, read '7NTkj;''i, adding the conjunction ;
which, being rendered as an adversative, sets tlie opposition
in a stronger light.
Ibid, 3/e.] The same ancient versions agree in adding
this word ; which very properly answers, and indeed is
almost necessarily required to answer, the words j)ossessor
and lord preceding, \o-pxrix h ME »« £yv«, LXX. " Israel
autem me non cognovit," Yulg. irpccnX h MOT «« eyia, Aq.
Theod. The testimony of so scrupulous an interpreter
as Aquila is of great weight in this case. And both his
and Theodotion's rendering is such, as shews plainly, that
they did not add the word mot to help out the sense ; for
it only embarrasses it. It also clearly determines what was
the original reading in the old copies, from which they trans-
lated. It could not be "Jn'j which most obviously answers
to the version of LXX and Vulg. for it does not accord
with that of Aquila and Theodotion. The version of these
latter interpreters, however injudicious, clearly ascertains
both the pinase, and the order of the words, of the original
Hebrew : it was yy n"? \"nN ^x-ity'i. The word 'nix has
been lost out of the text. The very same phrase is used by
Jeremiah, chap. iv. 22. i;>t vh \niN 'O^' : and the order of
the words must have been as al)ove represented ; for they
have joined b^y^^ with 'mx, as in reg'uniue. : they could
not have taken it in this sense, Israel meus 7wn cognovit,
had either this phrase, or the order of the words, been dif-
ferent. 1 have endeavoured to set this matter in a dear
lighl, as it is the first example of a whole word lost out of
the text ; of which the reader will find many other plain
examples in the course of these notes.
^JMic LXX, Syr. Vulg. read ':d;'i, ^^ and my people;"
and so likewise sixteen MSS.
4. degenerate] Five INISS (one of them ancient) read
a*nniy3 without the fust ' ; in llophal, corrupted, not
CHAP. I. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 135
corriqyters. See the same word, in the same form, in the
same sense, Prov. xxv. 26.
Ibid. — are estrcmo-ed] Thirty-two MSS (five ancient)
and two editions, read nnj : which reading determines the
word to be from tlie root in, to alienate, not from itj, to
separate : so Kimchi understands it. See also Annotat. in
Noldium, 68.
Ibid, ihei/ have turned their backs upon him] So Kiinchi
explains it: "they have turned unto him the back, and
not the face : " see Jer. ii. 27. vii. 24. I have been forced
to render this hne paraphrastically ; as the verbal transla-
tion " they are estranged backward," would have been unin-
telligible.
5. On iL-hat pari — ] The Vulgate renders hd hp, S7iper
quo, (see Job xxxviii. 6. 2 Chron. xxxii. 10.), upon tvhat
part : and so Abendana, on Sal. b. Melech : " There are
some who explain it thus : Upon what limb shall you be
smitten, if you add defection ? for aheady for your sins have
you been smitten upon all of them ; so that there is not to
be found in you a whole limb, on which you can be smitten."
Which agrees with what follows : " From the sole of the
foot even to the head, there is no soundness therein : " and
the sentiment and image is exactly the same with that of
Ovid, Pont. ii. 7. 42.
" Vix habet in nobis jam nova plaga locum."
Or that still more expressive line of Euripides; the great
force and effect of which Longinus ascribes to its close and
compressed structure, analogous to the sense which it ex-
presses : —
I'm full of miseries: there's no room for more.
Here. Fur. 1245. Long. sect. 40.
"On what part will ye strike- again ; will ye add correc-
tion?" This is addressed to the instruments of God's ven-
geance ; those that inflicted the punishment, who or whatso-
ever the}'^ were. " Ad verbum certee persona? intelhgendaj
sunt, quibus ista actio [quae per verbum exprimiturj corn-
petit : " as Glassius says in a similar case, Phil. Sacr. i. 3. 22.
See chap. viii. 4.
As from y^\ n;n, knowledge ; from ]•;", rii^, counsel ;
from jty", T\iw, sleep, &.c. ; so from "iD' is regularly derived niD,
correction-
136 NOTES OS ISAIAH. CHAP. I.
6. It hath not been pressed — ] The art of medicine in
tile East consislrf chiefly in external applications : accord-
ingly the Prophet's images in this place are all taken from
surgery. ?^ir John Chardin, in his note on Prov. iii. 8. " It
shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones,"
observes, that " the comparison is taken from the plasters,
ointments, oils, frictions, which are made use of in the East
upon the belly and stomach in most maladies. Being
ignorant in the villages of the art of making decoctions and
potions, and of the proper doses of such things, they gene-
rally make use of external medicines." Ilarmer's Observa-
tions on Scripture, vol. ii. p. 4S8. And in surgery their
materia medica is extrcn)cly simple; oil making the prin-
cipal part of it. "In India," says Tavernier, "ihey have
a certain preparation of oil and melted grease, which they
commonly use for the healing of wounds." Voyage Ind. So
the good Samaritan poured oil and wine on the wounds of
the distressed Jew : wine, cleansing and soniewliat astrin-
gent, proper for a fresh wound ; oil, mollifying and healing.
Luke X. 31.
Of the three verbs in this sentence, one is in the singular
number in the text, another is singular in two MSS (one
of them ancient) n:i'::n; and Syr. and Vulg. render all of
them in the singular number.
7 — 9. Your country is desolate — ] The description of
the ruined and desolate state of the country in those verses,
does not suit with any part of the prosperous times of U/./.iah
and Jotham. It very well agrees with the time of Ahaz,
when Judea was ravaged by the joint invasion of the Israel-
ites and Syrians, and by the incursions of the Philistines and
Edomiles. The date of this prophecy is therefore generally
fixed to the time of Ahaz. But on the other hand it may
be considered, whether those instances of idolatry, whicit
are urged in the 29th verse, (the worshipping in groves and
gardens), having been at all times too commonly practised,
can be supposed to be the only ones which the Prophet
would insist upon in the time of Ahaz ; who spread the
grossest idolatry through the whole country, and introduced
it even into the tcm|)Ie ; and, to com|)lcte his abominations,
made his son pass through the fire to jMoloch. It is said,
2 Kings XV. 37. that in JothanVs time " the Lord began to
send against Judah llotsin and Pekah :" If we may sujipose
any invasion from that (jnarter to have been actually made
CHAP. I. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 137
at the latter end of Jotham's reign, I should choose to refer
this prophecy to that time.
7. D'lT, (at the end of the verse). This reading, though
confirmed by all the ancient versions, gives us no good sense ;
for, your land is devoured by " strangers ; and is desolate, as
if overthrown by strang-ers" is a mere tautology, or, what is
as bad, an identical comparison. Aben Ezra thought, that
the word, in its present form, might be taken for the same
with mr, aji imtndation: Schultens is of the same opinion,
(see Taylor's Concord.) ; and Schindler in his Lexicon ex-
plains it in the same manner : and so, says Kimchi, some
explain it. Abendana endeavours to reconcile it to gram-
matical analogy in the following manner: — "d'II is the
same witli di? ; that is, as overthrown by an immdation of
waters: and these two words have the same analogy as mp
and U"\p. Or it may be a concrete, of the same form with
n»D"ty ; and the meaning will be, as overthrown by rain
pouring down violently, and causing a flood." On Sal. b.
Melech, in loc. But 1 rather suppose the true reading to
be D1I, and have translated it accordingly : the word D""!!,
m the line above, seems to have caught the transcriber's eye
and to have led him into this mistake.
8. as a sited in a vineyard — ] A little temporary hut
covered with boughs, straw, turf, or the Uke materials, for a
shelter from the heat by day, and the cold and dews by night,
for the watchman that kept the garden, or vineyard, during
the short season while the fruit was ripening ; (see Job xxvii.
18.) : and presently removed, when it had served that pur-
pose. See Harmer, Obser, i. 454. T-'hey were probably
obliged to have such a constant watch, to defend the fruit
from the jackals." " The jackal," (chical of the Turks,)
says Hasselquist, (Travels, p. 277.), " is a species of muslela
which is very common in Palestine, especially during the
vintage, and often destroys whole vineyards, and gardens of
cucumbers." " There is also plenty of the canis vulpes, the
fox, near the convent of St. John in the desert, about vin-
tage time ; for they destroy all the vines, unless they are
strictly watched." Ibid. p. 184. See Cant. ii. 15.
Fruits of the gourd kind, melons, water-melons, cucum-
bers, &c. aie much used, and in great request, in the Le-
vant, on account of their cooling quality. The Israelites in
the wilderness regretted the loss of the cucumbers and the
melons, among the other good things of Egypt : Numb. xi. 5.
n*
138
NOTES OX ISAIAH. CHAP, I,
In Egypt, tlie season of water-melons, wliich are most in re-
quest, and which the common people then chiefly live upon,
lasts but three weeks. See Hassel(|uist, p. 256. Tavernier
makes it of longer continuance : — " L'on y void de grands
carreaux de melons et de concombres ; mais beaucoup plus
des derniers, dont les Levantins font leur delices. Le plus
souvent ils les mangent sans les peler, apres quoy ils vont
boire une verre d'eau. Dans toute I'Asie c'ost la nourriiure
ordinaire du petit peuple pendant trois ou quatre mois; toute
la famille en vit, et quand un enfant demande a manger, au
lieu qu'en France ou ailleurs nous luy donnerions du pain,
dans Ic Levant on luy |iresenle un concombrc, {ju'il mange
cru conime on le vient de cueiMir. — Les concombres dans le
Levant ont une bonte particuliere, et quoyqu' on les mange
crus, ils ne font jamais de mal." Tavernier, Relat. du Ser-
rail, c. xix.
Ibid, a city taJccn hy seigc] So LXX and Vulg.
9. Jehovali God of Hosts] As this title of God niX3y
nirr, " Jehovah of VIosts," occurs here for the first time,
I think it proper to note, that I translate it always, as in this
place, "Jehovah God of Hosts;" taking it as an elliptical
expression for mN3:f 'nbx nirr. This title imports, that
Jehovah is the God, or Lord, of hosts or armies ; as he is
the Creator, and supreme Governor of all beings in heaven
and earth ; and disposeth and ruleth them all in their several
orders and stations ; the Almighty, Universal Lord.
10. Ye -princes of ^odovi — ] The incidental mention of
Sodom and Gomorrah in the preceding verse, suggested to
the Prophet this spirited address to the rulers and inhabi-
tants of Jerusalem, under the character of princes of Sodom
and people of Gomorrah. Two exainples of a sort of ele-
gant turn of the like kind may be observetl in St. Paul's
Epistle to the Romans, xv. 4, 5. and 12, 13. See Locke
on the place ; and see 29, 30. of this chapter ; which gives
another example of the same.
1 1. — the fat of fed beasts ; And in the blood — ] The fat
and the blood are particularly mentioned, because these
were in all sacrifices set apart to God. The fat was always
burnt upon the altar ; and the blood was partly sprinkled,
difiercntly on dilTercnt occasions, and partly poincd out at
the bottom of the altar. See Lev. iv.
11 — 16. What have I to do — ] The prophet Amos has
expressed the same sentiments with great elegance :
CHAP. I. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 139
" I hate, I despise your feasts;
And I will not delight in the odour of your solemnities;
Though ye offer unto me burnt-offerings:
And your meat-offerings I will not accept;
Neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fatlings.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
And the melody of your viols I will not hear.
But let judgment roll down like waters;
And righteousness like a mighty stream." Amos, v. 21 — 24.
12. Tread my courts no more — ] So the LXX divide
the sentence ; joining the end of this verse to the beginning
of the next.
13. The fast and the day of restraint] m'jf^'i |in. These
words are rendered in many different manners hy different
interpreters ; to a good and probable sense by all ; but, I
think, by none in such a sense as can arise from the phrase
itself, agreeably to the idiom of the Hebrew language. In-
stead of p,\, 'the LXX manifestly read Dii*, vr,?-siccv, "the
fast." This Houbigant has adopted. The Prophet could
not well have omitted the fast in the enumeration of their
solemnities ; nor the abuse of it, among the instances of their
hypocrisy, which he has treated at large with such force and
elegance in his 58th cha|jter. Observe also, that the pro-
phet Joel tv/ice joins together the fast, and the day of re-
straint :
" Sanctify a fast; proclaim a day of restraint." Joel i. 14. ii. 15.
Which shews how properly they are here joined together.
rriiT? the restraint, is rendered, both here and in other
places in our English translation, the solemn assembly. Cer-
tain holy days, ordained by the law, were distinguished by
a particular charge, that " no servile work should be done
therein." Lev. xxiii. 36. Numb. xxix. 35. Deut. xvi. 8.
This circumstance clearly explains the reason of the name,
the restraint^ or the day of restraint, given to those days.
If I could approve of any translation of these two words,
which I have met with, it should be that of the Spanish ver-
sion of the Old Testament, made for the use of the Spanish
Jews : " tortura y detenimiento," " it is a pain and a con-
straint unto me." But I still think, that the reading of the
LXX is more probably the truth.
15. Wlien ye spread — J The Syr. LXX, and MS, read
DDi:;ii!3, without the conjunction i.
140 NOTES OX ISAIAH. CHAP. T.
Ibid. For your Jinnds — ] At yu,^ %£'f£?. LXX. Manus
enim vestne. Viilg-. ^IMiey seem to liuve read dd'T o.
16. Wash ye — ] Referring to the preceding verse, " your
hands are full of blood ; " and alluding to the legal washings
commanded on several occasions, ^ee Lev. xiv. 8, 9, 47.
17. amend that which is corrupted] ynr\ niyx. In
rendering this obscure phrase I follow Bochart, (Hieroz.
Part. 1. lib. ii. cap. 7.), though I am not perfectly satisfied
w'ith his explication of it.
18. TliOK^h your sins were as scarlet — ] 'Jty, '•' scarlet,
or crimson,'' dibaphinn, tidcc di])]>cd, or double-dyed ; from
njiy, iterare, to double, or to do a thing' twice. This deriva-
tion seems much more probable than that which Salmasius
prefers, from pty, acucre, from the sharpness and strength
of the colour ; e^vipotny,ov. y^ry, the same ; properly the
worm., vermiculus, (from v^hence vermeil) ; for this colour
was produced from a worm, or insect, which grew in a coc-
cus, or excrescence, of a shrub of the ilex kind, (see Plin.
Nat. Hist. xvi. 8.) ; like the cochineal worm in tlie opuntia
of America, (see Ulloa's Voyage, b. v. ch. 2. note to p. 342.)
There is a shrub of this kind, that grows in Provence and
Languedoc, and [)ro(luce3 the like insect, called the kermes
oak, (see Miller, Diet. Quercus); from kermez, the Arabic
word for this colour ; whence our word crimson is derived.
" Neque amissos colores
Lana refert niedicata fuco."
says the poet ; applying the same image to a different pur-
pose. To discharge these strong colours is impossible to hu-
man art or power ; but to tlie grace and power of God, all
things, even nuich more diflicult, arc possible and easy.
11). Ye shall feed on the good of the land] Referring
to ver. 7.; it shall not lie " devoured by strangers."
20. Ye shall be food for the sword] The LXX and
Vulg. read DjbDxn, " the sword shall devour you ;^^ which
is of mucli more easy construction than the present reading
of the text.
"Th(! Chaldcc seems to read i^DNn 3'ns':3*in3; ' ye shall be
consumed by the sword of the enemy. ^ Syr. also reads 3-\n3,
and renders the verb passively. And the rhythmus seems to
require this addition." Dr. Jubb.
21. — become a harlot] See Lowth, Comment, on the
place ; and De S. Pocs. Hebr. Pra^l. xxxi.
CHAP. I. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 141
22. loine mixed wiih watei^] An image used for the
adulteration of wine, with mote ]7iopriety than may at first
aj3pear, if what Thevenot says of the people of the Levant
of late times was true of them formerly : He says. " they
never mingle water with their witie to drink ; but drink by
itself what water tliey think proper for abating the strength
of the wine." " Lorsciue les Persans boivent du vin, ils le
prennent tout pur, a la facjon des Levantins, qui ne le me-
lent jamais avec de I'eau ; niais en beuvant du vin, de temps
en temps ils prennent un pot d'eau, et en boivent de grand
traits." Voyage, Part. II. liv. ii. chap. 10. " lis (les Turcs)
n'y melent jamais d'eau, et se moquent des Chrestiens, qui
en mettent, ce qui leur semble toul-a-fait ridicule." Ibid.
Part. I. chap. 24.
It is remarkable, that whereas the Greeks and Latins by
mixed wine always understood wine diluted and lowered with
water, the Hebrews on the contrary generally mean by it
wine made stronger and niore inebriating, by the addition
of higher and more powerful ingredients ; such as honey,
spices, defrutum, (or wine inspissated by boiling it down to
two-thirds, or one-half, of the quantity), myrrh, mandra-
gora, opiates, and other strong drugs. Such were the ex-
hilarating, or rather stupifying, ingredients, which Helen
mixed in the bow^l together with the wine for her guests op-
pressed with grief, to raise their spirits ; the composition of
which she had learned in Egypt :
NriTTsvSci t' cc^oXov re, Koix-uv e7ri>ir,6o\i ccTTcivleov . Hom. OdyS. IV. ^20.
'' Mean while, with genial joy to warm the soul,
Bright Helen mix'd a mirth-inspiring bowl ;
Temper'd with drugs of sovereign use, t' assuage
The boiling bosom of tumultuous rase :
Cliarm'd with that, virtuous draught, th' exalted mind
All sense of woe delivers to the wind." Pope.
Such was "the spiced wine and the juice of pome-
granates," mentioned Cant. viii. 2. And how much the east-
ern people to this day deal in artificial liquors of prodigious
strength, the use of wine being forbidden, may be seen in a
curious chapter of Kempfer upon that subject. Amoen. Exot.
Fasc. iii. Obs. 15.
Thus the drunkard is properly described, (Prov. xxiii.
30.), as one "that seeketh w??A-Mvine ; " and is " mighty to
mingle strong drink : " Isaiah, v. 22. And hence the Psal-
142
NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. I.
mist took that highly poetical and suhlime image of the
cup of God's wiatii, called by Isaiali, (li. 17.) " the cup of
trembling," (causing intoxication and stupefaction ; see
Chappelow's note on ITaiiri, p. 33.) ; containing, as St. John
expresses in Greek this Hebrew idea, with the utmost pre-
cision, thougfi with a seeming contradiction in terms, KCKipcca--
fAiuv ciKfxlovy merntn mixiiwi, pure wine made yet stronger by
a mixture of powerful ingredients: Rev. xiv. iO. "In the
hand of Jehovah," saith the Psalmist, (Psal. Ixxv. 9.), " there
is a cup, and the wine is turbid : it is full of a mixed hquor,
and he poureth out of it : (or rather, "he poureth it out of
one vessel into another," to mix it perfectly ; according to
the reading expressed by -the ancient versions, nr ^x niD
in): verily tjie dregs thereof, (the thickest sediment of the
strong ingredients mingled with it), all the ungodly of the
earth shall wring them out, and drink them."
23. assoclales—] The LXX, Vulg. and four MSS,
read n^n, without the conjunction i.
24. Aha ! I will be eased — ] Anger, arising from a sense
of injury and affront, especially from those who, from e%ery
consideration of duty and gratitude, ought to have behaved
far otherwise, is an uneasy and painful sensation ; and re-
venge, executed to the full on the offenders, removes that
uneasiness, and conseciuently is pleasing and quieting, at
least for the present, Ezekiel introduces God expressing
himself in the same manner :
*^' And mine anger shall be fully accomplished:
And I will make my fury rest upon them ;
And 1 will give myself ease." Chap. v. 13.
This is a strong instance of the metaphor called Anthropo-
pathia ; by which, throughout the Scriptures, as well the
historical as the poetical parts, the sentiments, sensations,
and affections, the bodily faculties, qualities, and members
of men, and even of brute animals, are attributed to God ;
and that with the utmost liberty and latitude of application.
The foundation of this is obvious ; it arises from necessity :
we have no idea of the natural attributes of God, of his pure
essence, of his manner of existence, of his manner of acting :
when therefore we would treat on these subjects, we find
ourselves forced to express them by sensible images. But
necessity leads to beauty : this is true of metaphor in gene-
ral, and in particular of this kind of metaphor ; which is
CHAP. 1. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 143
used with great elegance and sublimity in the sacred poetry :
and what is very remarkable, in the grossest instances of the
application of it, it is generally the most striking and the
most sublime. The reason seems to be this : When the
images are taken from the superior faculties of the human
nature, from the purer and more generous affections, and
applied to God, we are apt to acquiesce in the notion ; we
overlook the metaphor, and take it as a proper attribute :
but when the idea is gross and offensive, as in this passage
of Isaiah, where the impatience of anger, and the pleasure
of revenge, is attribute I to God ; we are immediately shock-
ed at the application ; the impropriety strikes us at once ;
and the mind, casting about for something in the divine
nature analogous to the image, lays hold on some great,
obscure, vague idea, which she endeavours in vain to com-
prehend, and is lost in immensity and astonishment. See
De S. Poesi Hebr. Pra;l. xvi. sub fin. where this matter
is treated and illustrated by examples.
25. in the fiu'nace] The text has 133 ; which some ren-
der, " as with soap ; " as if it were the same with nm33 ; so
Kimchi : but soap can have nothing to do with the purifying
of metals : others, " according- to jjuriti/, or purcli/,''^ as our
version. Le Clerc conjectured, that the true reading is
11DD, " as in the furnace :" see Ezek. xxii. 18. 2U. Dr. Du-
rell proposes only a transposition of letters 1D3 ; to the same
sense : and so likewise Archbishop Seeker. That this is the
true reading is highly probable.
26. And after this—] The LXX, Syr. Chald. and
eighteen MSS, add the conjunction ).
27. — in judgment ;] by the exercise of God's strict jus-
tice in destroying the obdurate, (see ver. 28.), and delivering
the penitent : in righteousness ; by the truth and faithful-
ness of God in performing his promises.
29, 30. For yesltall be ashamed of the ilexes — ] Sacred
groves were a very ancient and favourite appendage of idol-
atry. They were furnished with the temple of the god to
whom they were dedicated ; with altars, images, and every
thing necessary for performing the various rites of worship
offered there ; and were the scenes of many impure cere-
monies, and of much abominable superstition. They made
a principal part of the religion of the old inhabitants of Ca-
naan ; and the Israelites were commanded to destroy their
groves, among other monuments of their false worship.
144 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. I.
The Israelites themselves became aftcrwavtl very much ad-
dicted to this species of idolatry.
<' When 1 had brought them into the land,
Which I sware tliat I would give unto them ;
Then they saw every high hill, and every thick tree:
And there they slew their victims ;
And tlierc they presented the provocation of their offerings;
- And there they placed their sweet savour;
And there they poured out their libations." Ezek. xx. 28.
" On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice;
And on the hills they burn incense:
Under the oak, and the poplar;
And the ilex, because her sliade is pleasant." Hosea, iv. 13.
Of what particular kinds the trees here mentioned are, it
cannot be determined with certainty. In regard to riia, in
this place of Isaiaii, as well as in Hosea, Celsius (Hierobot.)
understands it of the terebinth ; because the most ancient
interpreters render it so; in the first place the LXX. He
quotes eight places ; bi.t in three of these eight places the
copies vary, some having ^^vi instead of re^iQtv6oi. xVnd he
sliould liave told us, that these same LXX render it in six-
teen other places by ^^^^5 : so that their authority is really
against him ; and the LXX siant pro querat, conliary to
what he says at first setting out. Add to this, that Sym-
inachus, Theodotion, and Aquila, generally render it by
^^vi ; the latter only once rendering it by re^iQivSoi. His
other arguments seem to me not very conclusive : he says,
that all the qualities of nSx agree to the terebinth ; that it
grows h\ mountainous countries ; that it is a strong tree ;
long-lived ; large and high ; and deciduous. Ail these
qualities agree just as well to the oak, against which he
contends ; and he actually attributes them to the oak
in the very next section. But, I think, neither the oak
nor the terebinth will do in this place of Isaiah, from the
last circumstance which he mentions, their being deci-
duous ; where the Prophet's design seems to me to re(|uire
an ever-green: otherwise the casting of its. leaves would
be nothing out of tlie common established course of nature,
and no proper image of extreme distress, and total desola-
tion ; parallel to that of a garden without water, that is,
wholly burnt up and destroyed. An ancient, who was an
inhabitant and a native of this coimtry, understands it, in
like manner, of a tree blasted with uinoiumon and inunode-
CHAP. 1. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 145
rate beat: — ■"■velut arbores, cum froncks sestu torrente de-
■cusserunt." Ephrsem Syr. in loc. edit. Asseniani. Com-
pare Psal. i. 4. Jer. xvii. 8. Upon the whole, I have chosen
to make it the ilex ; which word Vossius (Etymolog.) de-
rives from the Hebrew n^« ; tliat, whether the word itself
be rightly rendered or not, 1 might at least preserve the pro-
priety of the poetical image.
29. For ye shall he ashamed^ iB'iDn, in the second per-
son, Vulg. Ohald. two MSS. and one edition ; and in agree-
ment with the rest of the sentence.
30. — whose leaves] Twenty-six MSS and three editions
read rrS;', in its full and regular form. This is worth re-
marking, as it accounts for a great number of anomalies of
the like kind, which want only the same authority to rectify
them.
30. —a garden wherein is no water.] In the hotter
parts of the eastern countries, a constant supply of water
is so absolutely necessary for the cultivation, and even for
the preservation and existence of a garden, that should it
want water but for a few days, every thing in it would be
burnt lip with the heat, and totally destroyed. There is
therefore no garden whatever in those countries, but what
has such a certain supply ; either from some neighbouring
river, or from a reservoir of water collected from springs,
or filled with rain-water in the proper season, in sufficient
quantity to afford ample provision for the rest of the year.
Moses, having described the habitation of man newly
created, as a garden, planted with every tree pleasant to the
sight and good for food, adds, as a circumstance necessary
to complete the idea of a garden, that it was well supplied
with water : (Gen. ii. 10. and see xiii. 10.) " And a river
went out of Eden to water the garden."
That the reader may 'nave a clear notion of this matter,
it will be necessary to give some account of the manage ment
of their gardens in this respect.
" Damascus, (says Maundrell, p. 122.), is enco'mpassed
with gardens, extending no less, according to common
estimation, thau thirty miles round ; which makes it look
like a city in a vast wood. The gardens are thick set with
fruit-trees of all kinds, kept fresh and verdant by the waters
of Barrady, (the Chrysorrhoas of the ancients), which
supply both the gardens and city in great abundance. This
river, as soon as it issues out from between the cleft of the
18
146 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. I.
moil main before mentioned into the plain, is immediately
divided into three streams ; of which the middlemost and
biggest runs directly to Damascus, and is distributed to all
the cisterns and fountains of the city. The other two
(which I take to be the work of art) are drawn round, one
to the right hand, and the other to the left, on the borders
of the gardens, into wliidi they are let as they pass, by little
currents, and so dispersed all over the vast wood ; inso-
much, that there is not a garden but has a fine quick stream
running through it. Barrady is almost wholly drunk up by
the city and gardens. What small part of it escapes is
united, as I was informed, in one channel again, on the
souih-east side of the city; and, after about three or four
hours' course, finally lo«es itself in a bog there, without ever
arriving at the sea." This was likewise the case in former
times, as Strabo, lib. xvi. Pliny, v. 18. testify ; who say,
" that this river was expended in canals, and drunk up by
watering the place.''
" The best sight (says the same Maundrell, p. 39.) that;
the palace [of the Emir of Beroot, anciently Berytus]
affords, and the worthiest to be remembered, is the orange
garden. It contains a large quadrangular plat of ground,
divided into sixteen lesser squares, four in a row, with walks
between them. The walks are shaded with orange-trees, of
a large spreading size. Every one of these sixteen lesser
squares in the garden was bordered with stone ; and in the
stone-work were troughs, very artificially contrived, for con-
veying the water all over the garden : there being little
outlets cut at every tree, for the stream, as it passed by, to
flow out, and water it." The royal gardens at Ispahan are
watered just in the same manner, according to Keniplers de-
scription, Amoin. Exot. p. 103.
'^I'his gives us a cle;ir idea of ihe D'o 'jVi), mentioned in
the first Psalm, and other places of Scri|)iuie. " the divisions
of waters," (he waters dislri!)Uled in ariitirial canals; for so
the phrase propr'riy signifies. The prophet J'lemiah has im-
itated, and elegantly amplified, the passage of the Psalmist
above referred to : —
^' He shall he like a tree planted by the water- side.
And whicii scndeth forth Ikt roots to the ariucduct:
She shall not fear, when the heat cometii;
But her leaf shall be green;
And in the year of drought she shall not be anxious,
JVcithcr shall she cease from bearing fruit." Jer. xvii. 8.
CHAP. I. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 147
From this image the son of Sirach has most beautifully
illustrated the influence and the increase of religious wisdom
in a well-piepared heart : —
" I also come forth as a canal from a river,
And as a conduit flowing into a paradise.
I said: I will water my garden,
And I will abundantly moisten my border:
And lo ! my canal became a river,
And my river became a sea." Eccl'us, xxiv. 30, 31.
This gives us the true meaning of the following elegant
proverb : —
*' The heart of the king is like the canals of waters in the hand
of Jehovah ;
Whithersoever it pleaseth him, he inclineth it." Prov. xxi. 1.
The direction of it is ii. the hand of Jehovah, as the distri-
bution of the water of the reservoir, through the garden, by
diflferent canals, is at the will of the gardener : —
" Et, quum exustus ager raorientibus sestuat herbis,
Ecce supercilio clivosi tramitis undam
Elicit: ilia cadens raucum per levia murmur
Saxa ciet, scatebrisque arentia temperat arva."
Virg. Georg. i. 107.
Solomon mentions his own works of this kind :
'' 1 made me gardens, and paradises;
And I planted in them all kinds of fruit-trees.
1 made me pools of water.
To water with them the grove flourishing with trees."
Eccles. ii. 5. 6.
Maundrell (p. 88.) has given a description of the remains, as
they are said to be, of these very pools made by Solomon,
for the reception and preservation of the waters of a spring,
rising at a little distance from them ; which will give us a
perfect notion of the contrivance and design of such reser-
voirs. " As for the pools, they are three in number, lying
in a row above each other ; being so disposed, that the waters
of the uppermost may descend into the second, and those of
the second into the third. Tlieir figure is quadrangular ;
the breadth is the same in all, amounting to about ninety
paces : in their length there is some dilTerence between them ;
the first being one hundred and sixty paces long ; the se-
cond two hundred ; the third two hundred and twenty.
They are all lined with wall, and plastered : and contain a
great depth of water."
148
NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. I.
The immense works which were made by the ancient
kings of Egypt, for receiving tiie waters of the Nile when
it overflowed, for such uses, are well known. But there
never Avas a more slupendous work of this kind, than the
reservoir of Saba, or Mernb, in Arabia Felix. According
to the tradition of the country, it was the work of Balkis,
that queen of .Sheba who visited Solomon. It was a vast
lake formed by the collection of the waters of a torrent in
a valle}^, where, at a narrow pass between two mountains, a
very high mole, or dam, was built. The water of the lake
so formed had near twenty fathom depth; and there were
three s-hiices at different heights, hy which, at whatever
height the lake stood, the plain below might he watered.
By conduits and canals from these sluices the water was
constantly distrilxited in due proportion to the several lands;
so that the whole country for many miles became a perfect
paradise. The city of Saba, or Merab, was situated imme-
diately below the great dam : a great Hood came, and raised
the lake above its usual height : the dam gave way in the
niiddle of the night ; the waters burst forth at once, and
overwhelmed the whole city, with the neighbouring towns,
and people. The remains of eight tribes were forced to
abandon their dwelling, and the beautiful valley became a
morass and a deseit. This fatal catastrophe happened long
before the time of Mohammed, who mentions it in the
Koran, chap, xxxiv. See also Sale, Prelim, sect. i. ; and
Michaelis, Questions aux Voyageurs Danois, No. 94. ; Nie-
buhr, Descrip. de TArabie, p. 240.
CHAPTER II.
The prophecy contained in the second, third, and fourth
chapters, makes one continued discourse. The first five
verses of chapter second foretell the kingdom of Messiah,
the conversion of the Gentiles, and their admission into it.
From the sixth verse to the end of the second chapter is fore-
told the punishment of the unbelieving Jews, for their idola-
trous practices, their confidence in their own strength, and
distrust of God's protection ; and moreover the destruction
of idolatry, in conse(|ucnce of the establishment of Messiah's
kingdom. The whole third chapter, with the first verse of
the fourth, is a prophecy of the calamities of the Babylonian
CHAP. II. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 149
invasion and captivity ; with a particular amplification of
the distress of the proud and luxurious daughters of >Sion.
Chap. iv. 2 — 6. promises to the remnant, which shall have
escaped this severe purgation, a future restoration to the favour
and protection of God.
This prophecy was probahly delivered in the time of
Jothai:n, or perhaps in that of Uzziah ; as Isaiah is said to
have prophesied in his reign ; to which time not any of his
prophecies is so applicable as that of these chapters. The
seventh verse of the second, and the latter part of the third
chapter, plainly point out times in which riches abounded,
and luxury and delicacy prevailed. Plenty of silver and
gold could only arise from their commerce ; particularly
fi'om that part of it which was carried on by the Red Sea.
This circumstance seems to confine the prophecy within the
limits above mentioned, while the port of Elatli was in their
hands : it was lost under Ahaz, and never recovered.
2. — ill the latter days — ] " Wherever the latter times
are mentioned in Scripture, the days of the Messiah are
always meant ;" sajs Kimchi on this place: and, in regard
to this place, nothing can be more clear and certain. The
Prophet Micah (chap. iv. 1 — 4.) has repeated this prophecy
of the establisiiment of the kingdom of Christ, and of its
progress to universality and perfection, in the same words,
with little and hardly any material variation : for as he did
not begin to prophesy till Jotham's time, and this seems to
be one of the first of Isaiah's prophecies, I suppose Micah to
have taken it from hence. The variations, as I said, are of
no great importance. Verse 2. xin after ^\sy\, a word of some
emphasis, may be suppHed from Micah, if dropt in Isaiah :
an ancient MS has it here in the margin : It has in like
manner been lost in chap. liii. 4. (see note on the place) ; and
in Psal. xxii. 29. where it is supplied by Syr. and LXX. In-
stead of D'un Sd, all the nations^ MicaJi has only d'o;', peo-
ples; where Syr, has q'dj; ^2, all peoples, as probably it
ought to be. Verse 3. for the 2d ^n read '7>?i, seventeen MSS,
two editions, LXX, Vulg. Syr. Chald. and so Micah iv. 2.
Verse 4. Micah adds, pm n;-', ofa^r off, which the Syriac also
reads in this parallel place of Isaiah. It is also to be ob-
served, that Micah has improved the passage by adding a
verse, or sentence, for imagery and expression worthy even of
the elegance of Isaiah : —
18=^
150 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. II.
" And they shall sit, every man under his vine,
And under his fig-tree, and none shall afTiight them:
For the mouth of Jehovah God of Hosts hath spoken it."
The description of well-estnMished peace, by the image of
" beating their swords into ploiisrhsliares, and their spears into
pruning-hooks," is very poetical. The Roman poets have
employed the same image : Martial, xiv. 34. " Falx ex ense."
" Pax me certa ducis placidos curvavit in usus:
Agricola3 nunc sum; militis ante fui."
The Prophet Joel hath reversed it, and applied it to war pre-
vailing over peace : —
" Beat your ploughshares into swords;
And your pruning-hooks into spears." Joel, iii. 10.
And so Ukewise the Roman poet : —
" Non ullus aratro
Dignus honos: squalent abductis arva colonis,
Et curvae rigiduui falces conflantur in ensem."
Virg. Georg. i. 606.
^' Bella diu tenuere viros: erat aptior ensis
Vomere: cedebat taurus arator equo.
Sarcula cessabant; versique in pila ligones;
Factaque de rastri pondere cassis crat." Ovid. Fast. i. 697,
The Prophet Ezekiel has presignified the same great event
with equal clearness, though in a more abstruse form, in an
allegory ; .from an image, suggested l)y the former part of the
prophecy, happily introduced, and well pursued : —
" Thus sa,'th the Lord Jehovah:
I myself will take from the shoot of the lofty cedar;
Even a tender cion from the top of his cions will 1 pluck off:
And I myself will plant it on a mountain high and eminent.
On the lofty moi.'ntain of Israel will I plant it;
And it shall exalt its branch and bring forth fruit;
And it shall become a majestic cedar:
And under it shall cSvell all fowl of every wing;
In the shadow of its branches shall they dwell:
And all the trees of tL»e field shall know.
That 1 Jkhovah have brought low the high tree;
Have exalted the low tree;
Have dried up the green tree;
And have made the dry ti ec to flourish:
I Jehovah have spoken it, and will do it." Ezek. xvii. 22-24.
The word innJi in this pasi-age, verse 22. as the sentence
now stands, seems incapable o/ being reduced to any proper
CHAP. II. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 151
construction or sense ; none of the ancient versions acknow-
ledge it, except Theodotion and Vuig. ; and all but the latter
vary very much from the present reading of this clause.
Houbigant's correction of the passage, by reading, instead of
■•nnJi, npJn, {and a tender cion), which is not very unlike it,
(perhaps better piV), with which the adjective i"i will agree
without alteration), is ingenious and probable ; and 1 have
adopted it in the above translation.
6. they are filled ivith diviners — ] Heb. They are filled
from the east ; or, more than the east. The sentence is ma-
nifestly imperfect. The LXX, Vulg. and Chaldee, seem
to have read DnpOD ; and the latter, with another word be-
fore it signifying idols : They are filled with idols as from
of old. Houbigant for Dipro, reads DDpD, as Brentius had
proposed long ago. I rather think, that both words together
give us the true reading : mpD, DDpn, vnth divination from,
the east ; and that the lirst word has been by mistake omit-
ted, from its similitude to the second.
Ibid. And they multiply — ] Seven MSS and one edition
read ip'iDD\ " Read in"3D' ; and have joined theinselves to
the children of strangers ; that is, in marriage, or worship."
Dr. JuBB. So Vulg. adhaserunt. Compare chap. xiv. 1.
But the very learned professor Chevalier Michaelis has
explained the word inDD', Job, xxx. 7. (German transla-r
tion, note on the place) in another manner ; which perfectly
well agrees with that place, and perhaps will be found to
give as good a sense here. n'iJD, the noun, means corn
springing up, not from the seed regularly sown on cultivated
land, but in the untilled field, from the scattered grains of
the former harvest. This, by an easy metaphor, is applied
to a spurious brood of children irregularly and casually begot-
ten. The LXX seem to have understood the verb here
in this sense, reading it as Vulg. seems to have done : this
justifies their version, which it is hard to account for in any
other manner : y-m tikvx ■sraXKa, ot,xx»<pvx<x, lymSii xvroii. Compare
Hos. V. 7. and LXX there.
7. And his land is filled with horses] This was in direct
contradiction to God's command in the law: "But he [the
king] shall not multiply horses to himself; nor cause the
people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should mul-
tiply horses : — neither shall he greatly multiply to himself
silver and gold : " Deut. xvii. 16, 17. Uzziah seems to
have followed the example of Solomon, (see 1 Kings x. 26,
152 ^OTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. IT.
— 29.). who first transgressed in these particulars : he re-
covered the port of Elath on the Red Sea, and witii it that
commerce, which, in Solomon's days, had " made silver and
e^old as plenteous at Jerusalem as stones:" 2 Chron. i. 15,
He had an army of 307,500 men ; in which, as we may
infer from this testimony of Isaiah, the chariots and horse
made a considerable part. " The law above-mentioned
was to be a stand ini^ trial of prince and people, whether they
had trust and confidence in God their deliverer." See Bp.
Sherlock's Discourses on Prophecy, Dissert, iv. where he has
excellently explained the reason and effect of the law and the
influence which the observance or neglect of it had on
the affairs of the Israelites.
8. And liis land is filled icitliidols^ Uzziah and Jotham
are both saiil.(2 Kings xv. 3, 4. and 34, 35.) "to liave
done that which was right in the sight of the Lord ;" (that
is, to have adhered to, and maintained the legal worship of
God, in opposition to idolatry, and all irregular worship;
for to this sense the meaning of tiiat phrase is commonly to
be resirained) ; '-save tliat tlie liiirh places were not removed,
where the people still sacrificed and burned incense." There
was hardly any time when they were (|uite free from this
irregular and unlawful practice ; which they seem to have
looked upon as very consistent with the true worship of
God ; and which seems in some measure to have I)een tole-
rated, while the tabernacle was removed from place to place,
and before the temple was built. Even after the conversion
of Manasseh, when he had removed the strange gods, and
commanded Judah to serve Ji:H0VAH the God of Israel ;
it is added, "Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still on
the high places, yet unto Jehovah their God only:" 2
Chron. xxxiii. 17. The worshipping on the high places
therefore does not necessarily imply idolatry : and from
what is said of these two kings, Uzziah and Joiham, we may
presunie, that the public exercise of idolatrous woisliip was
not permitted in their time. The idols therefore here spoken
of, must have been such as were designed for a private and
secret use. Such probably were the Teraphim so often
mentioned in Scripture : a kind of household gods, of human
form, as it should seem, (see 1 Sam. xix. 13. and compare
Gen. xxxi. 31.), of different magnitude, used for idolatrous
and superstitious purposes; particularly for divination, and
as oracles, which they consulted for direction in their affairs.
CHAP. ir. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 153
9. — shall be bov)ed down] This has reference to the
preceding verse : they bowed themselves down to their idols •
therefore shall they be bowed down and brought low under
ihe avenging hand of God.
10. When he ariseth to strike the earth with terror.] On
the authority of LXX, confirmed by the Arabic and an an-
cient MS, I have here added to the text a line, which in the
19th and 21st verses is repeated together with the preceding
line, and has, I think, evidently been omitted by mistake
in this place. The MS here varies only in one letter from
the reading of the other two verses : it has px3 instead of
pNH.
11. — be humbled] " For nt^i Ssl^, read nty iSsj;?." Dr.
DuRELL. Which rectifies the grammatical construction.
13 — 16. Even against all the cedars — ] These verses
affoid us a striking example of that peculiar way of writing,
which makes a principal characteristic of the parabolical or
poetical style of the Hebrews, and in which their prophets
deal so largely ; namely, their manner of exhibiting things
divine, spiritual, moral, and political, by a set of images taken
from things natural, artificial, religious, historical; in the way
of metaphor or allegory. Of these, nature furnishes much
the largest and the most pleasing share ; and all poetry has
chiefly recourse to natural images, as the richest and most
powerful source of illustration. But it may be observed of the
Hebrew poetry in particular, than in the use of such images,
and in the application of them in the way of illustration and
ornament, it is more regular and constant than any other poe-
try whatever ; that it has, for the most part, a set of images
appropriated in a manner to the explication of certain sub-
jects. Thus you will find, in many other places beside this
before us, that cedars of Libanusand oaks of Basan are used,
in the way of metaphor and allegory, for kings, princes, po-
tentates, of the highest rank ; high mountains and lofty hills,
for kingdoms, republics, states, cities ; towers and fortresses,
for defenders and protectors, whether by counsel or strength,
in peace or war ; ships of Tarshish, and works of art and in-
vention employed in adorning them, for merchants, men en-
riched by commerce, and abounding in all the luxuries and
elegancies of hfe ; such as those of Tyre and Sidon : for it
appears from the course of the whole passage, and from the
train of ideas, that the fortresses and the ships are to be taken
metaphorically, as well as the high trees and the lofty moun-
tains.
154 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. 11.
Ships of Tarshish are in Scripture frequently used by a
metonymy for ships in general, especially such as are em-
ployed in carrying on traffic between distant countries ; as
Tarshish was the most celebrated mart of those times, fre-
quented of old by tlie Phenicians, and the principal source of
wealth to Judea and the neighbouring countries. The
learned seem now to be perfectly well agreed, that Tarshish
is Tariessus, a city of Spain, at the mouth of the river Ba^tis :
whence the Phenioians, who first opened this trade, brought
silver and gold, (Jer. x. 9. Ezelc. xxvii. 12.), in which that
country then al)ounded ; and pursuing their voyage still fur-
ther to the Cassiterides, [Bochart. Canaan, I. cap. 39. Huet,
Hist, de Conuiierce, p. 194.), the islands of Scilly and Corn-
wall, they brought from thence lead and tin.
Tarshish is celebrated in Scri|)(ure (2 Chron. viii. 17,
18. \x. 21.) for the trade which Solomon carried on thither,
in conjunction with the Tyrians. Jehosaphat (1 Kings
xxii. 48. 2 Chron. xx. 36.) attempted afterward to renew
that trade; and from the account given of his attempt it
appears, that his lieet was to sail from Eziongeber on the
Red Sea: they must therefore have designed to sail round
Africa, as Solomon's fleet probably had done before, (see
Huet, Histoire de ConuTierce, p. 32.) ; for it was a three
years' voyage, (2 Chron. ix. 21.) ; and they brought gold
from Ophir, probably on the coa!?t of Arabia, silver from
Tartessus, and ivory, apes, and peacocks from Africa.
*' TDiN, Afri, Africa, i\\ti Roman termination, Africa terra.
l^'t&nn, some city, or couniiy, in Africa. So Chald. on 1
Kings xxii. 49. where he renders ty'ti-in, by np'iDX; and
compare 2 Chron. xx. 3b. from whence it appears, that to
go to Ophir and to Tarshish is one and the same thing."
Dr. JuBB. It is certain, that under Pharaoh Necho, about
two hundred years afterward, this voyage was made by the
Egyptians. (Herodot. iv. 42.) Tliey sailed from the Red
Sea, and returned by the Mediterranean, and they perform-
ed it in three years ; just the same time that the voyage
under Solomon had taken up. It appears likev.ise from
Pliny, (Nat. Hist. ii. ()7.), that the pa.^.suge round the (.-ape
of Good Mope was known and frecpienily practised before
his time; by Hanno the Carihaginian, when (^arlhage was
in its glory; by one Eudoxus, in the time of Ptolemy La-
thyrus king of Egypt ; and (^u'liiis Aniipuicr, an historian
of good credit, soirtewhat earlier than Pliny, testifies, that
CHAP. II. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 155
he had seen a merchant, who liad made the voyage from
Gades to ^Ethiopia. The Portuguese under Vasco de
Gama, near three hundred years ago, recovered this navi-
gation, after it had been intermitted and lost for many
centuries.
18. — shall disappear] The ancient versions, and an an-
cient MS, read "liiSn', plural.
19 — 21. into caverns of rocks — ] The country of Judea,
being mountainous and rocky, is full of caverns ; as it ap-
pears from the history of David's persecution under Saul.
At Engedi, in particular, there was a cave so large, that
David with six hundred men hid themselves in the sides of
it; and Saul entered the mouth of the cave without per-
ceiving that any one was there : 1 Sam. xxiv. Josephus
(Antiq. lib. xiv. cap. 15. ; and Bell. Jud. lib. i. cap. 16.)
tells us of a numerous gang of banditti, who, having in-
fested the country, and being pursued by Herod with his
army, retired into certain caverns, almost inaccessible, near
Arbela in Galilee, where they were with great difficulty sub-
dued. Some of these were natural, others artificial. " Be-
yond Damascus," says Strabo, lib. xvi. " are two mountains
called Trachones; [from which the country has the name
of Trachonitis] : and from hence, towards Arabia and Itu-
rea, are certain rugged mountains, in which there are deep
caverns ; one of which will hold four thousand men." Taver-
nier (Voyage de Persa, Part II. chap. 4.) speaks of a grot,
between Aleppo and Bir, tliat would hold near three thou-
sand horse. Three hours distant from Sidon, about a
mile from the sea, there runs along a high rocky mountain ;
in the sides of which are hewn a multitude of grots, all very
little differing from each other. They have entrances about
two feet square : on the inside, you find in most or all of
them a room of about four yards square. There are of
these subterraneous caverns two hundred in number. It
may, with probability at least, be concluded that these places
were contrived for the use of the living, and not of the dead.
Strabo describes the habitations of the Troglodytes to have
been somewhat of this kind:" Maundrell, p. 118. The
Horites, who dwelt in Mount Seir, were Troglodytes, as
their name nnn imports. But those mentioned by Strabo
were on each side of the Arabian Gulf. Mohammed (Ko-
ran, chap. XV. and xxvi.) speaks of a tribe of Arabians, the
tribe of Thamud, " who hewed houses out of the mountains,
156 NOTES DN ISAIAH. CHAP. II,
to secure themselves." Thus, '' because of (lie Midianites,
the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the
mountains, and caves, and strongholds." Judges, vi. 2. To
these they betook themselves for refuge in times of distress
and hostile invasion: '-"When the men of Israel saw that
they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed), then
the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets,
and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits ; " 1 Sam.
xiii. 6. and see Jer. xli. 9. Therefore, " to enter into the
rock ; to go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of
the earth," was to them a very proper and familiar image to
express terror and consternation. The Prophet Hosea hath
carried the same image further, and added great strength and
spirit to it : Chap. x. 8.
" They shall say to the mountains, Cover us;
And to the hills, Fall on us."
"Which image, together with these of Isaiah, is adopted by
the sublime author of the Revelation, (chap. vi. 15, 16.), who
frequently borrows his imagery from our Prophet.
20. — tvhich tJieij have made to worship — ] The word
lb, for himself, is omitted by an ancient MS, and is un-
necessary. It does not appear that any copy of LXX has it,
except MS Pachom. and MS i. D. ii. and they have Uvron^
Dnb, plural.
Ibid. — to the tnoles — ] They shall carry their idols with
them into the dark caverns, old ruins, or desolate places, to
which they shall flee for refuge ; and so shall give them up,
and relintpiish them to the filthy animals that frec|uent such
places, and ha\'e taken possession of them as their proper
habitation. Bellonius, Greaves, P. Lucas, and many other
travellers, speak of bats of an enormous size as inhabiting the
great Pyramid. See Harmer, Obser. vol. ii. 455. Three
MSS express nnD-Qn, the moles, as one word.
CHAPTER III.
1. Every stay and support — ] Heb. " the support mas-
culine, and the support feminine ; " that is, every kind of
support, whether |grcat or small, strong or weak : " Al
kanitz, wal-kain/z<ih; the wild beast, male and female: Pro-
verbially applied both to fishing and hmiling ; /. c. I seized
the prey, great or little, good or bad. From hence, as
CHAP. III. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 157
Schukens observes, is explained Isa. iii. 1. literally (he male
and female stay: i. e. the strong and weak, the great and
small." Chappelow, note on Haiiii, Assembly 1. Compare
Eccles. ii. 8.
The two following verses, 2, 3. are very clearly explained
by the sacred historian's account of the event, the captivity of
Jehoiachin by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon : "And he
carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the
mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the
craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of
the people of the land : " 2 Kings xxiv. 14.
4. I tcillmakeboys their prmces — ] This also was fully
accomplished in the succession of weak and Vvicked princes,
from the death of Josiah to the destruction of the city and
temple, and the taking of Zedekiah, the last of them, by
Nebuchadnezzar.
6. — of his father's housel For r,':^, the ancient inter-
preters seem to have read norD : ra omuh ra Ts-ctr^a ocvm -,
LXX : domestlcum patris sui ; Vulg. which gives no good
sense. (But LXX, MS i. D. ii. for oixem, has oixa.) And,
his brother, of his fathers house, is little better than a tau-
tology. The case seems to require, that the man should ap-
ply to a person of some sort of rank and eminence ; one that
was the head of his father's house, (see Josh. xxii. 14.) ;
whether of the house of him who applies to him, or of any
other ; r2« r,*3 H'Xi. I cannot help suspecting, therefore, that
the word tyj^i has been lost out of the text.
Ibid. — saying — ] Before n'7r:iy, garment, two MSS (one
ancient), and the Babylonish Talmud, have the wordios*'?:
and so LXX, Vulg. Syr. Chald. I place it with Houbigant,
after n^^Dtj'.
Ibid. — take by the garment.'] That is, shall entreat him
in an humble and supplicating manner. " Ten men shall
take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew ; saying, Let
us go with you ; for we have heard that God is with you : "
Zech. viii. 23. And so in Isaiah, chap. iv. 1. the same
gesture is used to express earnest and humble entreaty.
The behaviour of Saul towards Samuel was of the same
kind, when he laid hold on the skirt of his raiment : 1 Sam.
XV. 27. The preceding and following verses shew, that his
whole deportment, in regard to the prophet, was full of sub-
mission and himiihty.
Ibid. And let thy hand support — ] Before "jT nnn a
19
158 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. Ill,
MS adds rrnn ; another MS adds in the same place npn 1T3,
which latter seems to be a various reading of the two preced-
ing words, making a very good sense ; " take into thy hand
our ruinous state." Tweniy-one MSS, and three editions,
and the Babylonish Talmud, have -in', plural.
7. Then shall he openly declare — ] The LXX, Syr. and
Jerom. read xti-'n, adding the conjunction ; which seems
necessary in this place.
Ibid. For in my house is neither bread nor raiment.^
" It is customary through all the East," says Sir J. Chardin,
" to gather together an immense quantity of furniture and
clothes ; for their fashions never alter." Princes and great
men are obliged to have a great stock of such things in
readiness for presents upon all occasions. " The kings of
Persia," says the same author, " have great wardrobes, where
there are always many hundreds of habits ready, designed for
presents, and sorted." Harmer, Observ. ii. 11. and 88. A
great quantity of provision for the table was equally neces-
sary. The daily provision for Solomon's household, whose
attendants were exceedingly numerous, was proportionably
great : 1 Kings, iv. 22, 23. Even Nehemiah, in his strait
circumstances, had a large supply daily for his table ; at
which were received an hundred and fifty of the Jews and
rulers, beside those that came from among the neighbouring
heathens : Neh. v. 17, IS.
This explains the meaning of the excuse made by him
that is desired to undertake the government : he alleges, that
he has not wherewithal to support the dignity of the station
by such acts of liberality and hospitality as the law of custom
required of persons of superior rank. See llarmer's Observa-
tions, i. 340. ii. 88.
8. — the child] This word appears to be of very doubt-
ful form, from the printed editions, the ]MSS, and the an-
cient versions. The first jod in t;', which is necessary,
according to the conmion interpretation, is in many of tiiem
omitted : the two last letters are upon a rasure in two MSS.
I think it should be p;', as the Syriac reads ; and that the
allusion is to the cloud, in which the glory of the Lord ap-
peared above the tabernacle. See Exod. xvi. 9, 10. xl. 31 —
38. Numb. xvi. 41, 42.
10. Pronounce ye — ] T'he reading of this verse is very
dubious. The LXX for no.x wwA idxj ; or both, idn:
ITDN: and \h 31t3 N^* 'J- A>j5-<y,M.£V tou (J'/xa/ov, oTj ovTy^^rsoi '>;^(»
OHAP. III. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 159
e^i. Perhaps, for n:2X, the true reading may be iitj^N, bless
ye : or nt^x nox, sal/ V^^ blessed is — . Vulg. and an ancient
MS read, in the singular number, '73^', comedet.
12. Pervert\ i;?^d, swallow. Among many unsatisfac-
tory methods of accounting for the unusual meaning of this
word in this place, I chose Jarchi's explication, as making
the best sense. " Read ^'il2, confound. Syr." Dr. .Tube.
"Read )br\2, disturb ox troztble." Secker. So LXX.
13. — his people] )D)?, LXX.
14. — my vineyard] >d-)D, LXX, Chald. Jerom.
15. And grind the faces] The expression and the image
is strong, to denote grievous oppression ; but is exceeded by
the prophet Micah :
" Hear, I pray you, ye chiefs of Jacob;
And ye princes of the house of Israel:
Is it not yours to know what is right .''
Ye that hate good, and love evil:
Who tear their skin from off them;
And their flesh from off their bones:
Who devour the flesh of my people;
And flay from off' them their skin:
And their bones they dash in pieces;
And chop them asunder, as morsels for the pot;
And as flesh thrown into the midst ofthe cauldron."
Micah, iii. 1—3.
In the last line but one, for Ttj^iO, read, by the transposition
of a letter, ixtyD with the LXX, and Chald.
16. And falsely setting of their eyes loith paint] Heb.
falsifying their eyes. 1 take this to be the true meaning
and literal rendering of the word ; from ipis'. The Maso-
retes have pointed it, as if it were from ipiy", a different
word. This arose, as I imagine, from their supposing that
the word was the same with -\pD, Chald. intiieri, inmiere
oculis ; or that it had an affinity with the noun xip»D,
which the Chaldeans, or the Rabbins at least, use for sti-
bium, the mineral which was commonly used in colouring
the eyes. See Jarchi's comment on the place. Though
the colouring of the eyes with stibium be not particularly
here expressed, yet I suppose it to be implied : and so the
Chaldee paraphrase explains it ; '• stibio linitis ocidisJ^
This fashion sems to have prevailed very generally among
the eastern people in ancient times ; and they retain the
very same to this day.
160 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. III.
Pietro della Yalle, giving a description of his wife, an
Assyrian lady, born in Mesopolaniia, and educated at
Baghdad, whom he married in tlmt country, (Viaggi, tom.
i. letlera 17.), says, " Her cye-la^hcs, which are long, and,
according to the custom of the East, dressed with stibium,
(as we often read in the Holy Scriptures of the Hebrew
women of old, Jer. iv. 30. Ezek. xxiii. 40. ; and in Xeno-
phon of Astyages the grandfather of Cyrus, and of the
Medes of that time, Cyropa-d. lib. i.), give a dark, and at
the same time a majestic shade to the eyes." " Great eyes
(says Sandys, Travels, p. 07., speaking of the Turkish
women) they have in principal repute ; and of those, the
blacker they be, the more amiable : insomuch that they put
between the eye-lids and the eye a certain black powder,
with a fine long pencil, made of a mineral brought from the
kingdom of Fez, and called alcoholc ; which, by the not dis-
agreeable staining of the lids, doth better set forth the white-
ness of the e^^e ; and though it be troublesome for a time,
yet it comfortelh the sight, and repelleth ill humours.''
" Vis ejus [stibii] astringere ac refrigerare, princi|ialis aulcm
circa oculos ; namque ideo etiam plerique Platyophthahnon
id appellavere, quoniani in calliblcpharis mulierum dilatat
oculos ; et fluxiones inhibet oculorum cxulccrationesc'ue."
Plin. Nat. Hist, xxxiii. 6.
" Illc supercilium madida fuligine tinctum
Obliqua producit acu, pingitque trenientes
Attollens oculos." Juv. Sat. ii. 92.
"But none of those [Moorish] ladies," says Dr. Shaw,
(Travels, p. 294. fol.), " take themselves to be conqjletcly
dressed, till they have tinged the hair and edges of their
eyelids with al-l:aliul, the powder of lead ore. ^'his opera-
tion is performed by dipping first into the powder a small
W'ooden bodkin of the thickness of a ([uill, and then draw-
ing it aftcrwanls through the eye-lids, over the ball of the
eye." Ezekiel (xxiii. 40.) uses the same word in the lorm
of a verb, ■]♦:»;; nhriD, ''thou didst dress thine eyes with
al-cahnl;'^ which the LXX rendei- sV'S'/^s ry? o(p6xXf^Hi a-a,
"thou didst dress thine eyes with stih'nim ; " just as they do
wheri tin; word -yD is enqiloyed : (con)pare 2 Kings ix. 30.
Jer. iv. 30.) : they supposed therefore, that y\ii and '7nD, or,
in the Arabic form, al-ca/io!, meant the same thing; and
probably the mineral used of old, for this purpose, Mas the
same that is used now ; which Ur. Shaw (Ibid, note) says,
CHAP. III. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 161
is " a rich lead ore, pounded into an impalpable powder."
Alcoholados ; the word nnpJ^'D, in this place, is thus ren-
dered in an old Spanish translation. Sanctius. See also
Russell's Nat. Hist, of Aleppo, p. 102.
The following inventory, as one may call it, of the ward-
robe of a Hebrew lady, must, from its antiquity, and from
the nature of the subject, have been ver}' obscure, even to
the most ancient interpreters which we have of it ; and,
from its obscurit}^, must have been also peculiarly liable to
the mistakes of transcribers : however, it is rather matter of
curiosity than of importance ; and indeed it is, upon the
whole, more intelligible, and less corrupted, than one might
have reasonably expected. Clemens Alexandrinus (Pa?dag.
lib. ii. cap. 12.) and Julius Pollux (lib. vii. cap. 22.) have
each of them preserved, from a comedy of Aristophanes,
now lost, a similar catalogue of the several parts of the dress
and ornaments of a Grecian lady ; which though much more
capable of illustration from other writers, though of later
date, and quoted and transmitted down to us by two dif-
ferent authors ; yet seems to be much less intelligible, and
considerably more corrupted, than this passage of Isaiah.
Salmasius has endeavoured, by comparing the two quota-
tions, and by much critical conjecture and learned disquisi-
tion, to restore the true reading, and to explain the particu-
lars ; with what success. I leave to the determination of the
learned reader, whose curiosity shall lead him to compare
the passage of the comedian with this of the Propliet, and
to examine the critic's learned labours upon it. Exercit.
Plinian. p. 1148.; or see Clem. Alex, as cited above, edit.
Potter, where the passage as corrected by Salmasius is given.
Nich. Guil. Schroederus, professor of Oriental languages
in the university of Marpurg, has published a very learned
and judicious treatise upon this passage of Isaiah. The
title of it is, " Commentarius Philologico-Criticus De Vestitu
Mulierum Hebrsearum ad lesai, iii. ver. 16 — 24. Lugd. Bat.
1745." 4to. As I think no one has handled this subject with
so much judgment and ability as this author, I have for the
most part followed him, in giving the explanation of the sev-
eral terms denoting the different parts of dress, of which this
passage consists ; signifying the reasons of my dissent, where
he does not give me full satisfaction.
17. — icill the Lord humble—] Tcf^nmcrii, LXX ; and so
Syr. and Chald. For ns'^y they read bat?.
19*
162 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. III.
Ibid. — expose their nakedness] It was the barbarous
custom of the coiupierors of tliose limes to strip their cap-
tives naked, and to make them travel in that condition,
exposed to the inclemency of the weather ; and the worst
of all, to the intolerable heat of the sun. But this to the
women was the height of cruelty and indignity ; and espe-
cially to such as those here described, who had indulged
themselves in all manner of delicacies of hving, and all the
superfluities of ornamental dress ; and even whose Aices had
hardly e\er been exposed to the sight of man. This is al-
ways mentioned as the hardest part of the lot of captives.
Nahum, denouncing the fate of Nineveh, paints it in very
strong colours :
" Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah God of Hosts:
And I will discover thy skirts upon thy face ;
And I will expose thy nakedness to the nations;
And to the kingdoms thy shame.
And I will throw ordures upon thee;
And I will make thee vile, and set thee as a gazing-stock."
Nahum, iii, 5, 6.
18. — the ornaments of the feet ring's — ] The late learn-
ed Dr. Hunt, professor of Hebrew and Arabic in the uni-
versity of Oxford, has very well explained the word dd;,',
both verb and noun, in his very ingenious Dissertation on
Prov. vii. 22, 23. The verb means to skip, to bound, to
dance along ; and the noun, those ornaments of the feet
which the eastern ladies wore ; chains, or lings, which
made a tinkling soimd as they moved nimbly in walking.
Eugene Roger, Description de la Terre Sainte, liv. ii.
chap. 2. speakitig of the Arabian women of the first rank
in Palestine, says, " Au lieu de brasselets elles ont de me-
nottes d'argent, qu'elles portent aux poignets et aux picds ;
ou sont attachez (piantite de petits annelets d'argent, qui font
un cliquetis conune d'une cymbale, lorsqu'elles cheminent ou
se mouvent quelque pen." See Dr. Hunt's Dissertation ;
where he produces other testimonies to the same purpose from
authors of travels.
Ibid. — the net-icorks] I am obliged to differ from tiie
learned Schroederus, almost at first setting out ; he renders
the word D'D'3b? by solicnli, little ornaments, bullie, or
studs in shape representing the swi, and so answering to
the following word cj^niy, lumilcc^ crcscoits. He supposes
the word to be the same with CJi'^iy, the ' in the second
CHAP, lir. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 163
syllable making the word diminutive, aud the letter o being
changed for 3, a letter of the same organ. How just and
well-ibunded his authorities for the transmutation of these let-
ters in the Arabic language are, I cannot pretend to judge;
but, as 1 know of no such instance in Hebrew, it seems to
me a very forced etymology. Being dissatisfied with this ac-
count of the matter, 1 applied to my good friend above-men-
tioned, the late Dr. Hunt, who very kindly returned the fol-
lowing answer to my inquiries : —
"1 have consulted the Arabic lexicons, as well MS as
printed, but cannot find u»u'2ty in any of them, nor any thing
belonging to it. So that no help is to be had from that lan-
guage towards clearing up the meaning of this difficult word.
But what the Arabic denies, the Syriac perhaps may afford ;
in which I find the verb ty^iy to entangle, or interweave, an
etymology which is equally favourable to our marginal
translation, net-tvorks, with y^w, to make chequer -ic or k, or
embroider, (the word by which Kimchi andj othere have
explained v'2Vi), and has moreover this advantage over it,
that the letters ly and 0 are very frequently put for each
other, but -^ and d scarce ever. Aben Ezra joins D^CZJiy.
and D'DDj? (which immediately precedes it) together ; and
says, that o'^ti^ was the ornanient of the legs, as 02); was
of the feet. His words are, ODp V^y c'^Ji D'3ty ts'^n V^ D'pity
21. The jewels of the nostril — ] t^xrror:. Schroederus
explains this, as many others do, of jewels, or strings of pearl,
hanging from the forehead, and reaching to the upper part
of tlie nose. But it appears from many passages of Holy
Scripture, that the phrase is to be literally and properly un-
derstood of nose jewels, rings set with jewels hanging from
the nostrils, as ear-rings from the ears, by holes bored to re-
ceive them.
Ezekiel, enumerating the common ornaments of women
of the first rank, has not omitted this particular, and is to be
understood in the same nianner ; chap. xvi. 11, 12. (See
also Gen. xxiv. 47.)
" And I decked thee with ornaments;
And I put bracelets upon thine hands,
And a chain on thy neck:
And I put a jewel on thy nose,
-And ear-rings on thine ears,
And a splendid crown upon thine head."
164 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. III.
And in an elegant proverb of Solomon there is a manifest
allusion to this kind of ornament, which shews it to have been
used in his time :
*' As a jewel set in gold in the snout of a swine;
So is a woman beautiful, but wanting discretion."
Prov. xi. 22.
This fashion, however strange it may appear to us, was
formerly, and is still, common in many parts of the East,
among women of all ranks. Paul Lucas, speaking of a
village, or clan, of wandering people, a little on this side of
the Eu|)hrates; "The women," says he, (2d Voyage du
Levant, tom. i. art. 24.), " almost all of them, travel on foot :
I saw none handsome among them. They have almost all
of them the nose bored, and wear in it a great ring, which
makes them still more deformed." But in regard to this
custom, better authority cannot be produced than that of
Pietro della Vallc, in the account which he gives of the
lady before-mentioned, Signora Maani Gioerida, his own
wife. The description of her dress, as to the ornamental
parts of it, with which he introduces the mention of this
particular, will give us some notion of the taste of the eastern
ladies for finery. '= Tlie ornaments of gold, and of jewels,
for the head, for the neck, for the arms, for the legs, and
for the feet, (for they wear rings even on their toes), are in-
deed, unlike those of the Turks, carried to great excess, but
not of great value ; for in Baghdad jewels of high price
either are not to be had, or are not used ; and they wear
such only as are of little value; as turquoises, small rubies,
emeralds, carbuncles, garnets, pearls, and the like. My
spouse dresses herself with all of them according to their
fashion ; with excej)tion, however, of certain ugly rings of
very large size, set with jewels, which in truth, very absurd-
ly, it is the custom to wear fastened to one of their nostrils,
like buffaloes : an ancient custom however in the East, which,
as we find in the Moly Scriptures, prevailed among the
Hebrew ladies even in the lime of Solomon : Prov. xi. 22.
These nose-rings in compl;^i^anee to me she has left olf;
but 1 have not yet been ai^le to prevail with her cousin and
her sisters to do tlie same: so fond are they of an old cus-
tom, be it ever so absurd, who have been long habituated to
it." Viaggi, tom. i. lett. 17.
23. The transparent i^armcnts — ] D'jr^jn, r« ^icctpxm
>MM>nKu, LXX. A kind of silken dress, transparent, hke
CHAP. III. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 165
gauze ; worn only by the most delicate women, and such as
dressed themselves "elegantius, quam necesse esset probis."
This sort of garments was afterwards in use among the Greeks,
Prodicus, in his celebrated fable (Xenoph. Memorab. Socr.
lib. ii.) exhibits the personage of Sloth in this dress :
" Her robe betray'd
Through the clear texture every tender limb,
Height'ning the charms it only seemed to shade;
And as it flow'd adown so loose and thin,
Her stature shew'd more tall, more snowy white her skin."
They were called Multitia and Coa (sc. vestimenta) by the
Romans, from their being invented, or rather introduced into
Greece, by one Pamphila of the island of Cos. This, like
other Grecian fashions, was received at Rome when luxury
began to prevail under the Emperors ; it was sometimes worn
even by the men, but looked upon as a mark of extreme ef-
feminacy : (see Juvenal, Sat. ii. 65, &c.) Publius Syrus, who
lived wiien the fashion was first introduced, has given a hu-
morous satirical description of it in twolinesj which by chance
have been preserved :
" ^quum est, induere nuptam ventum textilem ?
Palam prostare nudam in nebula linea ? "
24. Insiead of perfume — ] A principal part of the delicacy
of the Asiatic ladies consists in the use of baths, and of the
richest oils and perfumes : an attention to which is, in some
degree, necessary in those hot countries. Frequent mention
is made of the rich ointments of the spouse in the Song of
Solomon : —
" How beautiful are thy breasts, my sister, my spouse !
How much more excellent than wine;
And the odour of thine ointments than all perfumes !
Thy lips drop as the honey-comb, my spouse !
Honey and milk are under thy tongue:
And the odour of thy garments is as the odour of Lebanon."
Cant. iv. 10, 11.
The preparation for Esther's being introduced to King
Ahasuerus was a course of bathing and perfuming for a
whole year; "Six n)onths with oil of myrrh, and six
months with sweet odours:" Esth. ii. 12. A diseased and
loathsome habit of body, instead of a beautiful skin, softened
and made agreeable with all that art could devise, and all
that nature, so prodigal in those countries of the richest per-
166 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. III.
fumes, could supply, must have been a punishment the most
severe, and the most mortifying to the delicacy of these
haughty daughters of Sion.
Ibid. A sun-burnt skin — ] Gaspar Sanctius thinks the
words nnn o an interpolation, because the Vulgate has omit-
ted them. The clause ••)♦ nnn 'D seems to me rather to be
imperfect at the end. ]Not to mention that o, taken as a noun,
for adustio, bin7iing; is without example, and very improb-
able : the passage ends abruptly, and seems to want a fuller
conclusion.
In agreement with which opinion of the defect of the He-
brew text in this place, the LXX, according to MSS Pachom.
and I. D. ii. and Marchal. which are of the best authority,
express it with the same evident marks of imperfection at
the end of the sentence ; thus, txvtx c-o< x^rt xaxxtuTrio-f^ —
The two latter add <r». This chasm in the text, from the loss
probably of three or four v.ords, seems therefore to be of long
standing.
Taking o in its usual sense, as a particle, and supplying
lb from 5-0/ of the LXX, it might possibly have been original-
ly somewhat in this form : —
: HNirD n>n "p n-nn '3'' nnn o
" Yea, instead of beauty, thou shalt have an ill-favoured coun-
tenance."
'D' nnn o [q. nrr] " for beauty shall be destroijedJ^ Syr.
from nnn, or nnj. Dr. Durell.
May it not be tid, " wrinkles instead of beauty ?" as from
n3' is formed '3' ; from m^D, '10, <fcc. so from nn3, to be wrink-
led, TID." Dr. JUB15.
25. ///// miglity men — ] For ^mnj, an ancient MS has
pnj. The true reading from LXX, Vulg. Syr. Chald. seems
to be 1*113 J.
26 — sit on tlic iground.'] Sitting on the ground was a
posture that denoted mourning and deep distress. The
Prophet Jeremiah has given it the first place, among many
indications of sorrow, in the following elegant description of
the same state of distress of his couiUry : —
" The elders of the daughter of Sion sit on the ground, they
arc silent:
They have cast up dust on their heads; tliey have girded
themselves with sackcloth:
The virgins of Jerusalem have bowed down their heads to
the ground." . Lam. ii. 10.
CHAP. III. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 167
" We find Judea," says Mr. Addison, (on Medals, Dial, ii.)
" on several coins of Vespasian and Titus, in a posture that
denotes sorrow and captivity. — I need not mention her sit-
ting on the ground, because we have already spoken of the
aptness of such a posture to represent an extreme affliction.
I fancy the Romans might have an eye on the customs of
the Jewish nation, as well as those of their country, in the
several marks of sorrow they have set on this figure. The
Psalmist describes the Jews lamenting their captivity in the
same pensive posture. " By the waters of Babylon we sat
down and wept, when we remembered thee, O Sion." But
what is more remarkable, we find Judea represented as a
woman in sorrow sitting on the ground, in a passage of the
Prophet that foretells the very captivity recorded on this
medal." Mr. Addison, I presume, refers to this place of
Isaiah ; and therefore must have understood it as foretelling
the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation by the
Romans : whereas it seems plainly to relate, in its first and
more immediate view at least, to the destruction of the city by
Nebuchadnezzar, and the dissolution of tiie Jewish state under
ithe captivity at Babylon.
CHAPTER IV.
1. And seven women — ] The division of the chapters
has interrupted the Prophet's discourse, and broken it off
almost in the midst of the sentence. " The numbers slain
in Liattle shall be so great, (hat seven women shall be left to
one man." The Prophet has described the greatness of this
distress by images and adjuncts the most expressive and for-
cible. The young women, contrary to their natural modesty,
shall become suitors to the men : they will take hold of
them, and use the most pressing importunity to be married :
in spite of the natural suggestions of jealousy, they will be
content with a share only of the rights of marriage in com-
mon with several others; and that on hard conditions, re-
nouncing the legal demands of the wife on the husband, (see.
Exod. xxi. 10.), and begging only the name and credit of
wedlock, and to be heed from the reproach of celibacy, (see
chap. liv. 4, 5.) Like Marcia, on a difierent occasion, and in
other circumstances, —
" Da tantum nomen inane
Connubii : liceat tumulo scripsisse, Catonis
Marcia." Lucan. ii 342,
168
NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. IV.
Ibid. — in that day — ] These words are omitted in LXX
and MS.
Ibid. Thehranch of Jehovah — ] The Messiah of Je-
hovah, says the Chaldee. The branch is an appropriated
title of the Messiah ; and tlie fruit of tlie hind means the
great Person to spring from the house of Judah, and is only
a parallel expression signifying the same ; or perhaps the
blessings consequent upon the redemption procmed by him.
Compare chap. xlv. 8. where the same great event is set forth
in similar images ; and see the note there.
Ibid. — tlie house of Israel] A MS has '7NTj»n'3.
3. — written among- the lii-ing.] That is, whose name
stands in the enrolment or register of the people; or every
man living, who is a citizen of Jerusalem. See Ezek. xiii. 9.
where "they shall not be written in the writings of the house
of Israel," is the same with what immediately goes before,
"they shall not be in the assembly of my people." Compare
Psal. Ixxxvii. 6. Ixix. 28 ; Exod. xxxii. 32. To number and
register the people was agreeable to the law of Moses, and
probably was always practised; being, in sound policy, useful
and even necessary. David's design of numbering tlie people
W'as of another kind ; it was to enrol (hem for his army. Mi-
chaelis, Mosaisches Recht, Part 111. p. 227. See also his
Dissert, de Censibus Hebrajorum.
4. " The s/)irit of bnrni/ig,^^] means the fire of God's
wrath, by which he will prove and purify his people ; gather-,
ing them into his furnace; in order to separate the dro?;s from
(he silver, the bad from the good. ^Phe severity of God's
judgments, the fiery trial of his servants, Ezekiel (chap. xxii.
18 — 22.) has set forth at large, after his manner, with great
boldness of imagery and force of expression. God threatens
to gather them into the midsl of .lerusalem, as into the fur-
nace ; to blow (he fire upon them, and to melt them. INIalachi
(chap. iii. 2, 3.) treats the same sul)ject, and represents the
same event umler the like images : —
" But who may al)i(lo the clay of his corning?
And who shall stand wiien he ap|)earctii?
For he is like the fire of the relincr,
And like the soap of the fullers.
And he shall sit refining and purifying the silver ;
And he siiall purify the sons of Levi,
And cleanse them like gold, and like silver;
That they may bo Ji:uovah's ministers,
Prcscntin<: unto him an oH'crinir in riirhteousness."
CHAP. IV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 169
5. — the station — ] The Hebrew text has, every station;
but four MSS (one ancient) omit '73; very rightly, as it
should seem ; for the station was Mount Sion itself, and no
other. See Exod. xv. 17. And the LXX and MS add the
same word '73 before n'XipD, probably right : the word has
only changed its place by mistake. n»xnpD, " the place where
they were gathered together in their holy assemblies," says
Sal. b. Melee.
Ibid. A cloud hy day — ] This is a manifest allusion to
the pillar of a cloud and of fire, which attended the Israelites
in their passage out of Egypt, and to the glory that rested
on the tabernacle, Exod. xiii. 21. xl. 38. The prophet Ze-
chariah applies the same image to the same purpose : —
" And I will be unto her a wall of fire round about;
And a glory will I be in the midst of her." Zech. ii. 5.
That is, the visible presence of God shall protect her.
Which explains the conclusion of this verse of Isaiah;
where the makkaph between '73 and ni^D, connecting the
two words in construction, which ought not to be connected,
has thrown an obscurity upon the sentence, and misled most
of the translators.
6. And a tabernacle — ] In countries su])ject to violent
tempests, as well as to intolerable heat, a portable tent is a ne-
cessary part of a traveller's baggage, for defence and shelter.
CHAPTER V.
This chapter likewise stands single and alone, unconnect-
ed with the preceding or following. The subject of it is near-
ly the same with that of the first chapter. It is a general
reproof of the Jews for their v.ickedness : but it exceeds that
chapter in force, in severity, in variety, and elegance ; and it
adds a more express declaration of vengeance, b}^ the Babylo-
nian invasion.
1. Let me sing 71010 a song-] A MS, respectable for its
antiquity, adds the word I'ii' (a song) after xj ; which gives
so elegant a turn to the sentence by the repetition of it in the
next member, and b}^ distinguishing the members so exactly
in the style and manner of tlie Hebrew poetical composition,
that I am much inclined to think it genuine.
Ibid. A song of loves] nn, for onn; status constructus
pro absoluto, as the grammarians say, as Micah, vi. 16.;
Lament, iii. 14. and 66.; so Archbishop Seeker. Or rather,
20
170 KOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. V.
in all these and the like cases, a mistake of the transcribers,
by not observing a small stroke, which in many MSS is
made to supply the d of the plural, thus 'nn. cnn nvi?
is the same with mn'i'a', Psal. xlv. 1. In this way of un-
derstanding it, we avoid the great impropriety of making the
author of the song, and the person to whom it is addressed, to
be the same.
Ibid. On a higli and fruitful hill] Heb. " on a horn the
son of oil." The expression is highly descriptive and poet-
ical. " He calls the land of Israel a horn, because it is
hisrher than all lands ; as the horn is higher than the
••'11
whole body : and the son of oil, because it is said to be a
land flowing with milk and honey." Kimchi on the place.
The parts of animals are, by an easy metaphor, applied to
parts of the earth, both in common and poetical language. A
promontory is called a cape, or head ; the Turks call it a
nose. " Dorsum ininiane mari summo ; " Virg. a back, or
ridge of rocks.
" Hanc latus angustum jam se cogentis in arctum
Hesperias tenuem producit in aequora Ungumn,
Adriacas flexis claudit quae cornibus undas."
Lucan. ii. 612. of Brundusium, i. e. 'B^evTertov, which, in the
ancient language of that country, signifies stag's-head. says
Strabo. A horn is a proper and obvious image for a moun-
tain, or mountainous country. Solinus, cap. viii. says,
"Italiam, ubi longius processerit, in cornua duo scindi : "
that is, the high ridge of the Alps, which runs through the
whole length of it, divides at last into two ridges, one going
through Calabria, the other through the country of (he
Brutii. " Cornwall is called by the inhabitants in the British
tongue Kernaw, as lessening by degrees like a horn, running
out into promontories like so n)any horns. For the Britains
call a horn corn., in the plural kern : " Camden. " And
Sammes is of opinion, that the country had tliis name origi-
nally from the Phenicians, who traded hither for tin ; kcrcn,
in their language, being a horn : " Gibson.
Here the precise idea seems to be that of a high mountain
standing by itself: "vertex montis, aut pars montis al) aliis
divisa ; " which signification, says I. H. Michaclis, (liibl.
Hallens. Not. in loc.) the word has in Arabic.
Judea was in general a mouMtainous country; whence
Moses sometimes calls it the Ptlountain : — " Thou shalt
plant them in the IMoinitain of thine inheritance ; " Exod.
XV. 17. " I j)ray thee let inc go over, and see the good land
CHAP. V. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 171
that is beyond Jordan ; that goodly Mountain, and Leba-
non ; " Deut. iii. 25. And in a pohtica! and rehgious view
it was detached and separated from all the nations round it.
Whoever has considered the descriptions given of Mount
Tabor, (see Reland, Paleestin. ; Eugene Roger, Terre Sainte,
p. 64.), and the views of it which are to be seen in books of
travels, (Maundrell, p. 114. Egniont and Heyman, vol. ii. p.
25. Thevenot, vol. i. p. 429.) ; its regular conic form,
rising singly in a plain to a great height from a base small
in proportion ; its beauty and fertihty to the very top ; will
have a good idea of " a horn the son of oil ; " and will perhaps
be induced to think, that the Prophet took his image from
that mountain.
2. and he cleared it from the stones?\ This was agreea-
ble to the ancient husbandry : '' Saxa, sunima parte terree, et
vites et arbores la'dunt; ima parte, refrigerant;" Columell.
De Arb. 4. " Saxosum facile est expedire lectione lapidura ; "
Id. ii. 2. "Lapides, qui supersunt, [al. insuper sunt] hieme
rigent, estate fervescunt; idcirco satis, arbustis, et vitibus no-
cent; " Pallad. i. 6. A piece of ground thus cleared of the
stones, Persius, in his hard way of metaphor, calls " Exossa-
tus ager ; " Sat. vr. 52.
Ibid. Sorek\ Many of the ancient interpreters, LXX, Aq.
Theod. have retained this word as a proper name ; 1 think
very rightly. Sorek was a valley lying between Ascalon and
Gaza, and running far up eastward in the tribe of Judah.
Both Ascalon and Gaza were anciently famous for wine :
the former is mentioned as such by Alexander Trallianus ;
the latter by several authors : ((juoted b}'^ Reland, Palajst. p.
589. and 986.) And it seeni^;, that the upper part of the
valley of Sorek, and that of Eshcol, where the spies gathered
the single cluster of grapes which they were obliged to bear
between two upon a staff, being both near to Hebron, were
in the same neighbourhood ; and that all this part of the
country abounded with rich vineyards. Compare Numb. xiii.
22, 23. Judg. xvi. 3, 4. P. Nan supposes Eshcol and Sorek
to be only different names for the same valley : Voyage Nou-
veau de la Terre Sainte, liv. iv. chap. 18. So likewise De
Lisle's posthumous map of the Holy Land ; Paris, 1763. See
Bochart, Hieroz. ii. col. 725. Thevenot, i. p. 406. Michaelis
(note on Judg. xvi. 4. German translation) thinks it proba-
ble, from some circumstances of the history there given, that
Sorek was in the tribe of Judah, not in the country of the
Philistines.
172 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. V.
The vine of Soiek was known to the Israelites, being
inenlioned by Moses (Gen. xlix. 11.) before their coming
out of Egypt. Egypt was not a wine country. " Through-
out this country there are no wines;" Sandj^s, p. 101. At
least in very ancient times they had none. Herodotus, ii.
77. says, it had no vines ; and therefore used an artificial
wine made of barley. That is not strictly true ; for the vines
of Egypt are spoken of in Scripture, (Psal. Ixxviii. 47. cv.
33., and see Gen. xl. 11. by which it should seem, that they
drank only the fresh juice pressed from the grape, which
was called o/vo? «£,M,;T£A(ves, Herodot. ii. 37.) ; but they had no
large vineyards ; nor was the country proper for them, be-
ing little more than one large plain, annually overflowed by
the Nile. The Mareotic in later times is, I think, the only
celebrated Egyptian wine which we meet with in history.
The vine was formerly, as Hassek[uist tells us it is now,
" cultivated in Egypt for the sake of eating the grapes, not
for wine ; which is brought from Candia," &c. " They were
supplied with wine from Greece, and likewise from Phenicia ; "
Herod, iii. 6. The vine and the wine of Sorek, therefore,
which lay near at hand for importation into Egypt, must, in
all probability, have been well known to the Israelites when
they sojourned there. There is something remarkable in the
manner in which Moses makes mention of it, which, for
want of considering this matter, has not been attended to :
It is in Jacob's prophecy of the future prosperity of the tribe of
Judah : —
" Binding his foal to the vine,
And his ass's colt to his own Sorek;
He washeth his raiment in wine,
And his cloak in the blood of grapes." Gen. xlix. 11.
I take the liberty of rendering npTiy, for ipTii', his Sorek,
as the Masoretes do of pointing hr;', for it>, his foal, "^y
might naturally enough a|)pear in the feminine form, but it
is not at all probal)le that p-ijy ever should. By naming
])articularly the vine of Sorek, and as the vine belonging to
Judah, the prophecy intimates the very part of the country
which was to fall to the lot of that tribe. Sir John Chardin
says, " That at Casbin, a city in Persia, they turn their
cattle into the vineyards, after the vintage, to browse on the
vines.'"' He speaks also of vines in that country, so large
that he could hardly compass the trunks of them with his
arms. Voyages, torn. iii. p. 12. 12mo. This shews, that
CHAP. V. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 173
the ass might be securely bound to the vine ; and without
danger of damaging the tree by browsing on it.
Ibid. And he built a toner in the midst of it.] Our Sa-
viour, who has taken the general idea of one of his parables
(Matt. xxi. 33. Mark xii. 1.) from this of Isaiah, has like-
wise inserted this circumstance of building a tower ; which
is generally explainetl by commentatois, as designed for the
keeper of the vineyard to watch and defend the fruits. But
for this purpose it was usual to make a little temporary hut,
(Isa. i. S.), which might serve for the short season while the
fruit was ripening, and which was removed afterwards. The
tower, therefore, should rather mean a building of a more
permanent nature and use ; the farm, as we may call it, of
the vineyard, containing all the ofBces and implements, and
the whole apparatus necessaiy for the culture of the vine-
yard, and the making of the wine. To which image in the
allegory, the situation, the manner of building, the use, and
the whole service of the temple, exactly answered. And so
the Chaldee paraphrast very rightly expounds it : — " Et
statui eos (Israehtas) ut plantam vinese selectae, et aedifi-
cavi sanctuarium meum in medio illorura." So also Hieron.
in loc. " TEdificavit quoque turrim in medio ejus : tem-
plum videlicet in media civitate." That they have still such
towers or buildings, for use or pleasure, in their gardens in
the East, see Harmer's Observ^ations, ii. p. 241.
Ibid. And hewed out a lake therein.] This image also
our Saviour has preserved in his parable. 2p', LXX ren-
der it here zr^oMviov ; and in four other places wwoAjikov -, Isa.
xvi. 10. Joel, iii. 13. Hagg. ii. 17. Zech. xiv. 10. ; I think,
more properly : and this latter word St. Mark uses. It
means, not the wine-press itself, or calcatoritim, which is
called nj, or niiD, but what the Romans called laais, the
lake ; the large open place, or vessel, which, by a conduit
or spout, received the must from the wine-press. In very
hot countries it was perhaps necessary, or at least very con-
venient, to have the lake under ground, or in a cave hewed
out of the side of the rock, for coolness ; that the heat might
not cause too great a fermentation, and sour the must.
"Vini confectio instituitur in cella, vel intimae domus ca-
mera quadam, a venlorum ingressu remota : " Kempfer, of
Schiras wine ; Amam. Exot. p. 376 : For the hot wind, to
which that country is subject, would injure the wine. " The
wine-presses in Persia," says Sir John Chardin, " are formed
20*
174
NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. V.
by making hollow places in the ground, lined witii mason's
Avork." Harmer's Observalions, i. p. 392. See a print of
one in Kempfcr, p. 377. Nonnus describes, at large, Bac-
chus hollowing the inside of the rock, and hewing out a place
for the wine-press, or rather the lake : —
A<P^ov [f. cex^av.J e'OfciiPvXolo TVTtov zroirt'^ccro >iy,vov.
He pierc'd the rock; and with the sharpen'd tool
Of steel well temper'd, scoop'd its inmost depth:
Then smooth'd the front, and forni'd the dark recess
In just dimension for the foaming lake." Dionysiac. lib. xii.
Ibid. And he expected — ] Jeremiah uses the same image,
and applies it to the same purpose, in an elegant })araphrase
of this part of Isaiah's parable, in Ijis flowing and plaintive
raanner :
" But I planted thee a Sorek, a cion perfectly genuine:
How then art thou changed, and become to me the degene-
rate shoots of the strange vine! " Chap. ii. 21.
Ibid, poisonous bcrries'\ L'Z'ixa, not merely useless un-
profitable grapes, such as wild grapes ; but grapes offensive
to the smell, noxious, poisonous. By the force and intent
of the allegory, to good grapes ought to be opposed fruit
of a dangerous and pernicious quality ; as, in the expli-
cation of it, to judgmeiit is opposed tyranny, and to right-
eousness oppression. |3j, the vine, is a common name,
or genus, including several species under it ; and Moses, to
distinguish the true vine, or that from which wine is made,
.from the rest, calls it. Numb. vi. 4. j'^n ]DJ, the wine-vine.
Some of the other sorts were of a poisonous quahty ; as ap-
pears from the story related among the miraculous acts of
Elisha, 2 Kings iv. 39 — 41. " And one went out into the
field to gather pot-herbs; and he found a field-vine: and
he gathered from it wild fruit, his lapful ; and he went, and
shred them into the pot of pottage : for they know them
not. And they poured it out for the men to eat : and it
came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they
cried out, and said. There is death in the pot, O man of
God ! and they could not eat of it. And he said. Bring
meal ; (leg. inp, nine MSS, one edition) ; and he threw it
into the pot. And he said. Pour out for the people, that
they may eat. And there was nothing hurtful in the pot."
CHAP. V. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 175
From some such sorts of poisonous fruits, of the grape
kind, Moses has taken those strong and highly poetical
images, with which he has set forth the future corruption
and extreme degeneracy of the Israehtes, in on allegory which
has a near relation, both in its subject and imagery, to this of
Isaiah : —
" Their vine is from the vine of Sodom,
And from the fields of Gomorrah:
Their grapes are grapes of gall;
Their clusters are bitter:
Their wine is the poison of dragons,
And the cruel venom of aspics." Deut. xxxii, 32, 33.
" I am inclined to believe, (says Hasselquist), that the
Prophet here (Isa. v. 2. and 4.) means the hoary night-
shade, solammi incanutn ; because it is common in Egypt,
Palestine, and the East ; and the Arabian name agrees well
with it. The Arabs call it aneh el dib, i. e. loolf-grafes.
The Prophet could not have found a plant more opposite
to the vine than this ; for it grows much in the vineyards,
and is very pernicious to them ; wherefore they root it out :
it likewise resembles a vine by its shrubby stalk : " Travels,
p. 289. See also Michaelis, Questions aux Yoyageurs Da-
nois, No. 64.
3. — inhabitants] ^2W\ in the plural number; three MSS,
(two ancient) ; and so likewise LXX and Vulg.
6. the horns shall sp7-ing up in it,] A MS has TrDM ;
the true reading seems to be I'oty n^: which is confirmed by
LXX, Syr. Vulg.
7. And he looked for judprnicnt — ] The paronomasia, or
play on the words, in this place, is very remarkable : mispat,
onispach ; zedakah, zeakah. There are many examples of
it in the other Prophets ; but Isaiah seems peculiarly fond of
it : see chap. xiii. 6. xxiv. 17. xxvii. 7. xxxiii. 1. Ivii, 6. Ixi. 3.
Ixv. 11, 12. The Rabbins esteem it a great beauty: their
term for it is \yshr\ nmir, " elegance of language."
Ibid. — ti/ranmj] nDWO, from r\BW, servum fecit, Arab.
Houbigant : nniS'J', is serva, a handmaid, or female slave.
nSDO, eighteen M^S.
8. Yon icho lay field — ] Read nnpn, in the second per-
son ; to answer to the verb following ; so Vulg.
9. To mine ear — ] The sentence in the Hebrew text
seems to be imperfect in this place ; as likewise in chap,
xxii. 14. where the very same sense seems to be required
176 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. V.
as here. See the note there : and compare 1 Sam. ix. 15.
Ill this place LXX supply the word TiKmria, and Syr. ^'DiTiyN,
anditus est Jehovah in auribiis meis : i. e. rhii, as in chap,
xxii. 14.
9, 10. — many houses — ] This has reference to what
was said in the j)receding verse : " In vain are ye so intent
upon joining house to house, and field to field : your houses
shall be left uninhabited, and your fields sliall become de-
solate and barren ; so that a vineyard of ten acres shall pro-
duce but one batli (not eight gallons^ of wine, and the hus-
bandman shall reap but a tenth part of the seed which he has
sown."
11. — to follow strong drinlc] Theodoret and Chrysos-
tom on this place, both Syrians, and unexceptionable wit-
nesses in what belongs to their own country, inform us,
that iDty, {<rtx.e^oi, in the Greek of both Testaments, rendered
by us by the general term strong drink), meant properly
pahn-wine, or date-wine, which was and is still much in
use in the eastern countries. Judea was famous for the
abundance and excellence of its palm-trees ; and conse-
quently had plenty of this wine. " Fiunt (vina) et e pomis :
— primuuKjue e palmis, quo Parlhi et Indi utunlur, et Oriens
totus : maturarum modio in aquae congiis tribus macerato
expressocjue : " Plin. xiv. 19. " Ab his cariotcc [palnue]
maxime celebrantur ; et cibo quidem, sed etsucco, uberrimae.
Ex quibus pracipna vina Orienti ; iniqua capiti, unde porno
nomen : '' Id. xiii. 9. K^^e? signifies stiipef action: and in
Hebrew likev/ise, the wine has its name from its remarkable
inebriating quality.
11, 12. Wo unto them who rise early — ] There is a
likeness between this and the following passage of the Prophet
Amos, who probably wrote before Isaiah : if the latter is th
copyer, he seems liardly to have ccjualled the elegance of the
original : —
" Ye that put far away the evil day,
And affect the seat of violence ;
Who lie upon beds of ivory,
And stretch yourselves upon your couches ;
And eat the lambs from the flock,
And calves from the midst of tlie .stall ;
Who chant to the sound of the viol,
And like David invent for yourselves instruments of music;
Who (juafi'wine in large bowls,
And are anointed with the clioicest ointments :
But are not grieved for tiie aflliction of Joseph." Amos vi. 3-6.
CHAP. V. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 177
13,14. A?id their nobles — ] These verses have likewise
a reference to ihe two preceding. They, that indulged in
feasting and drinking, shall perish with hunger and thirst;
and Hades shall indulge his appetite as much as they had
done, and devour them all. The image is strong, and ex-
pressive in the highest degree. Hahakkuk uses the same
image with great force : the ambitious and avaricious con-
queror
"Enlargeth his appetite like Hades;
And he is like death, and will never be satisfied." Hab. ii. 5.
But, in Isaiah, Hades is introduced, to much greater advan-
tage, in person ; and placed before our eyes in the form of a
ravenous monster, opening wide his unmeasurable jaws, and
swallowing them all together.
17. — without restraint — ] D"i3n3, secundum ductum
eorum : i. e. suo ipsorum ductu ; as their own will shall lead
them.
Ibid. And the kids — ] Heb. D'lJ, strangers. The LXX
read, more agreeably to the design of the Prophet, D'id, «?vf?,
the lambs : DnJ, the kids, Dr. Durell ; nearer to the present
reading : and so Archbishop Seeker. The meaning is, their
luxurious habitations shall be so entirely destroyed, as to be-
come a pasture for flocks.
18. — as a long cable] The LXX, Aquila, Sym. and
Thcod. for '^3n3 read »b3nD, <y? <^zo"iv, or (r;^^oivtoti : and the
LXX, instead of i^ity, read some other word signifying long ;
ai G-x,eitytc;) f^xK^u : and so likewise the Syriac, XDnx. Houbi-
gant conjectures, that the word which the LXX had in their
copies was ^'na-', which is used, Lev. xxi. 18. xxii. 23. for
something in an animal body superfluous, lengthened beyond
its natural measure. And he explains it of sin added to sin,
and one sin drawing on another, till the whole comes to an
enormous length and magnitude ; compared to the work of
a rope-maker, still increasing and lengthening his rope, with
the continued addition of new materials. " Eos propheta
similes facit homini restiario, qui funem torquet, cannabe
addita et contorta, eadem iterans, donee funem in longum
duxerit, neque eum liceat protrahi longius." " An evil in-
clination (says Kimchi on the place, from the ancient Rab-
bins) is at the beginning like a fine hair-string, but at the
finishing like a thick cart-rope." By a long progression n
iniquity, and a continued accumulation of sin, men arrive
at length to the highest degree of wickedness ; bidding open
ITS NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. V.
defiance to God, and scoffing at his threatened judgments, as
it is finely expressed in the next verse. The Chaldee paia-
phrast explains it in the same manner, of wickedness increas-
ing from small begiimings, till it arrives to a great magnitude.
23. — the righteous] pn^f, singular, LXX, Vulg. and two
editions.
24. — the tongue ofjire] " The flame, because it is in the
shape of a tongue ; and so it is called metaphorically :" Sal.
b. Melee. The metaphor is so exceedingly obvious, as well as
beautiful, that one may wonder that it has not been more fre-
tjuently used. Virgil very elegantly intimates, rather than
expresses, the image : iEn. ii. 6S2.
*' Ecce levis summo de vertice visus luli
Fundere lumen apex; tractuque innoxia molli
Lambcre flamma comas, et circum tempera pasci.^^
And more boldly of jEtna darting cut flames from its top :
^n. iii. 574.
" Attollitque globes flammarum, et sidera lambit."
The disparted tongues, as it were, of fire, (Acts ii. 3.), which
appeared at the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles,
give the same idea ; that is, of flames shooting diversely into
pyramidal forms, or points, like tongues. It may be further
observed, that the Propliet in (his place has given the meta-
phor its full force, in applying it to the action of fire in eat-
ing up and devouring whatever comes in its way, like a
ravenous animal, whose tongue is principally employed in
taking in his food or prey ; which image Moses has strongly
exhibited in a most expressive comparison : — " And Moab
said to the elders of Midian, Now shall this collection of
people lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh
up the grass of the field ;" Numb. xxii. 4. See also 1 Kings
xviii. 38.
25. — and the mountains trembled — ■] Probably referring
to the great eartlK|uakes in the days of Uzziah king of Ju-
dah, in, or not long before, the time of the Prophet himself:
recorded as a remarkable era in the title of the Prophecies of
Amos, chap. i. 1. and by Zechariah, chap. xiv. 5.
2(3. — h,e will hist — ] " The metaphor is taken from the
practice of those that keep bees; who draw them out of their
hives into the fields, and lead them back again, c-v^ia-fJucTi, by
a hiss, or a whistle :" ( -yril, on the place ; and to the same
purpose, Theodoret, ibid. In cha|). vii. IS. the metaphor is
CHIP. V. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 179
more apparent, by being carried further ; where the hostile
armies are expressed by the fly and the bee : —
" Jehovah shall hist the fly,
That is in the utmost parts of Egypt;
And the bee, that is in the land of Assyria."
On which place see Deut. i. 44. Psal. cxviii. 12.; and God
calls the locusts his great army, Joel, ii. 25. Exod. xxiii. 28.
See Huet. Q,uaest. Alnet. ii. 12.
Ibid. — with speed — ] This refers to the 19th verse. As
tlie scoffers had challenged God to make speed and to hasten
his work of vengeance; so now God assures them, that with
?!peed and swiftly it shall come.
27. Nor shall the girdle — ] The eastern people, wear-
ing long and loose garments, were unfit for action or busi-
ness of any kind, without girding their clothes about them:
when their business was finished, they took off their giixUes.
A girdle therefore denotes strength and activity ; and to un-
loose the girdle, is to deprive of strength, to render unfit for
action. God promises to unloose the loins of kings before
Cyrus, chap. xlv. 1. The girdle is so essential a part of a
soldier's accoutrement, being the last that he puts on to
make himself ready for action, that to be girded^ ^mwr^My
with the Greeks, means to be completely armed, and ready
for battle :—
A^yuni. II. xi. 15,
Ta oe eva'vvxi tcc oTtXa itcdXiSv oi-zyciXaiai ^mwrBM. Pausan. BcEOt,
It is used in the same manner by the Hebrews : — •' Let not
hitn, that girdeth himself, boast, as he that unlooseth his
girdle," 1 Kings xx. 11.; that is, "triumph not, before the
war is finished."
28. The hoofs of their horses shall be counted as ada-
^nmit.] The shoeing of horses with iron plates nailed to the
hoof is quite a modern practice, and unknown to the ancients ;
as appears from the silence of the Greek and Roman writers,
especially those that treat of horse-medicine ; who could not
have passed over a matter so obvious, and of such impor-
tance, that now the whole science takes its name from it,
being called by us Farriery. The horse-shoes of leather and
of iron, which are mentioned; the silver and the gold shoes
with which Nero and Poppea shod their mules, used occa-
sionally to preserve the hoofs of delicate cattle, or for vanity.
180 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. V.
were of a very different kind ; they inclosed the whole hoof
as in a case, or as a shoe does a man's foot, and were bound
or tied on. For this reason, the strength, firmness, and so-
lidity of a horse's hoof was of much greater importance with
them than with us ; and was esteemed one of the first praises
of a fine horse. Xenophon says, that a good horse's hoof is
hard, hollow, and sounds upon the ground like a cymbal.
Hence the x'^XKOTroS'si W-^ot of Homer; and Virgil's "solido
graviter sonat ungula cornu." And Xenophon gives direc-
tions for hardening the horse's hoofs, by making the pave-
ment, on which he stands in the stable, with round-headed
stones. For want of this artificial defence to the foot, which
our horses have, Amos (vi. 12.) speaks of it as a thing as
much impracticable to make horses run upon a hard rock, as
to plough up the same rock with oxen : —
" Shall horses run upon a rock?
Shall one plough it up with oxen ? "
These circumstances must be taken into consideration, in or-
der to give us a full notion of the propriety and force of the
image, by which the Prophet sets forth the strength and ex-
cellence of the Babylonish cavalry ; which made a great part
of the strength of the Assyrian army. Xenoph. Cyrop.
lib. ii.
27, 28. None among them — ] Kimchi has well illustrated
this continued exaggeration, or hyperbole, as he rightly calls
it, to the following efiect : — " Through the greatness of their
courage, they shall not be fatigued with their march ; nor
shall the}'" stumble, though they march with the utmost speed :
they shall not slumber by day, nor sleep by night ; neither
shall they ungird their armour, or put off' their sandals, to
take their rest : their arms shall be always in readiness, their
arrows sharpened, and their bows bent : the hoofs of their
horses are hard as a rock ; they shall not fail, or need to be
shod with iron : the wlioels of their carriages shall move as
rapidly as a whirlwind."
30. And these shall look to the heaven upward, and down
to the earth.] ]'"IX"7 U^jl. Kmi ei^%Xf<].oiixi m rnv y;}v. So the
LXX, according to Vat. and Alex, copies ; but the Compl.
and Aid. editions have it more fully thus, K»i s(A£xi-<^ovlM en;
T6V a^xvov ccvM., y.cci y,oi]u: and the Arabic, from the IjXX, as
if it had stood thus, K«( iu.QXi-<l^o'Pioc,i nq tov «jojvev, x.cti m; T>i)i ytjV
Kcclu : both of which arc. plaiidy defective; the words m tjj»
yjj» being wanted in the former, and the word «v« in the
CHAP. V. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 181
latter. But an ancient Coptic version from the LXX, sup-
posed to be of the 2d century, some fragments of which are
preserved in the Ubrary of St. Germain des Prez at Paris,
completes the sentence; for, according to this version, it
stood thus in LXX, Kxi tfjeeXi-^otlcn e/? rev y^fltvav «v&>, kxi si^ mv
yvtt Kxla; and so it stands in LXX, MSS Pachom. and i.
D. II. according to which they must liave read in their He-
brew text in this manner : r\mb p«'7i n^^'D^ D'dk/^ D3:i.
This is probably the true reading ; with which I have made
the translation agree. Compare chap. viii. 22. where the
same sense is expressed in regard to both particulars, which
are here equally and highly proper, the looking upwards, as
well as down to the earth ; but the form of expression is
varied. I believe the Hebrew text in that place to be right,
though not so full as I suppose it was originally here ; and
that of the LXX there to be redundant, being as full as the
Coptic version, and MSS Pachom. and i. D. ii. represent it
in this place, from which I suppose it has been inteipolated.
Ibid, the gloomy vapour] Syr. and Vulg. seems to have
read nbDn;'^. But Jarchi explains the present reading as
signifying darkness ; and so possibly Syr . and Vulg. may
have understood it in the same manner.
CHAPTER VI.
As this vision seems to contain a solemn designation of
Isaiah to the prophetical office, it is by most interpreters
thought to be tlie first in order of his prophecies. But this
perhaps may not be so : for Isaioh is said, in the general title
of his Prophecies, to have prophesied in the time of Uzziah ;
whose acts first and last he wrote, 2 Chron. xxvi. 22. which
was usually done by a contemporary Prophet : and the phrase,
" in the year v.'hen Uzziah died," probably means after the
death of Uzziah ; as the same phrase, chap. xiv. 28. means
after the death of Ahaz. Not that Isaiah's prophecies are
placed in exact order of time : chapters ii. iii. iv. v. seem by
internal marks to be antecedent to chap. i. ; they suit the time
of Uzziah, or the former part of Jotham's reign; whereas
chap. i. can hardly be earlier than the last years of Jotham.
See note on chap. i. 7. and ii. 1. This might be a new de-
signation, to introduce more solemnly a general declaration
of the whole course of God's dispensations in regard to his
21
182 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. VI.
people, and the fates of the nation ; which are even now still
dependino:, and will not be fully accomplished till the final
restoration of Israel.
In this vision the ideas are taken in general from royal
majesty, as displayed by the Monarchs of the East ; for the
Prophet coidd not represent tlie inefl'able presence of God
by any other than sensible and earthly images. The partic-
ular scenery of it is taken from the temple. God is repre-
sented as seated on his throne above the ark in the most
holy place, where the glory appeared above the cherubim,
surrounded by his attendant ministers. This is called by
God himself, "The place of his throne, and the place of the
soles of his feet ; " Ezek. xliii. 7. " A glorious throne, ex-
alted of old, is the place of our sanctuary," saith the Prophet
Jeremiah, chap. xvii. 12. The very posture of sitting is a
mark of state and solemnit)' : " Sed et ipsum verbum sedere
regni significat potestatem," saith Jerome, Comment, in
Ephes. i. 20. See note on chap. lii. 2. St. John, who has
taken many sublime images from the Prophets of the Old
Testament, and in particular from Isaiah, hath exhibited the
same scenery, drawn out into a greater number of particulars,
Rev. chap. iv.
The veil, separating the most holy place from the holy, or
outermost part of the temple; is here supposed to be taken
away ; for the Prophet, to whom the whole is exhibited, is
manifestly placed by the altar of burnt-on'ering, at the en-
trance of the temple, (compare Ezek. xliii. 5, 6.), which was
filled with the train of the robe, the spreading and overflow-
ing of the divine glory. The Lord upon the throne, accord-
ing to St. John, xii. 41. was Christ ; and the vision related
to his future kingdom ; when the veil of separation was to
be removed, and the whole earth Avas to be filled with the
glory of God, revealed to all mankind : whicli is likewise im-
plied in the hymn of the seraphim ; the design of v,hich is,
saith Jcrom on the place, ' ut mysterium Trinitatis in una
Divinitate demonstrent ; et nequaquam tcmplum Judaicum,
sicut prius, sed omncm terram illius gloria plenam esse tes-
lentur." It relates indeed primarily to the Prophet's own
time, and the obduration of the Jews of that age, and their
punishment by the Babylonish captivity ; but extends in its
full latitude t(^ the age of Messiah, and the blindness of the
Sq,\\^ to the gospel ; (see Matt. xiii. 11. John xii. 40. Acts
xxviii. 2r). Ivom. xi. 8.) ; the desolation of their country by
the Romans, and their being rejected by God : that never-
CHAP. VI. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 183
theless a holy seed, a remnant, should be preserved, and that
the nation should sprout out and flourish again from the old
stock.
In the first verse, fifty-one MSS, and one edition ; in the
8th verse, forty-four MSS, and one edition ; and in the 11th
verse, thirty-three MSS, and one edition, for jjnx, " the
Lord," read nin', " Jehovah ; " which is probably the true
reading, (compare verse 6th) ; as in many other places, in
which the superstition of the Jews has substituted 'jin for
mn*.
2. he cover eth his feet.] By the feet the Hebrews mean
all the lower parts of the body. But the people of the East
generally wearing long robes reaching to the ground, and
covering the lower parts of the body down to the feet, it may
hence have been thought want of respect and decency to
appear in public, and on solemn occasions, with even the
feet themselves uncovered. Kcmpfer, speaking of the king
of Persia giving audience, says; "Rex in medio supremi
atrii cruribus more patrio inflexis sedebat : corpus tunica in-
vestiebat flava, ad suras cum staret protensa ; discumbentis
vero i)edes discalceatos jwo iirhanitate patria operlens: "
Amoen. Exot. p. 227. Sir John Chardin's MS note on this
place of Isaiah is as follows : '• Grande marque de respect en
Orien! de se cach-^r les pieds, quand on est assis, et de baisser
le visage. Quand le soverain se. monstre en Chine et a Jap-
on, chacun se jette le visage contre terre, el il n'est pas permis
de regarder le roi."
3. Hobj, lioly, holy — ] Tl is hymn, performed by the
seraphim, divided into two choirs, the one singing respon-
sively to the other, which Gregory Nazian. Carm. J 8. very
elegantly calls 'Lvi^/pmov^ utncpmov, ufyexm ?-x(riv, is formed upon
the practice of alternate singing, which prevailed in the
Jewish church from the time of Moses, whose ode at the
Red Sea was thus performed, (see Exod. xv. 20, 21.), to
that of Ezra, under whom the priests and Levites sung al-
ternately,
" O praise Jehovah, for he is gracious;
For his mercy endureth for ever."
Ezra iii. 11. See Ue S. Poes. Hebr. Pral. xix. at the be-
ginning.
5. I am struck dumb.] 'non:, twenty-eight MSS (five
anc ent) an I three editions. I understand it as from on, or
DOT, i ere ; and so it is rendered by Syr. Vulg. Sym. and
t84 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP, VI.
by some of the Jewish interpreters, apucl. Sal. b. Melee.
The rendering of the Syriac is, 'jx tIiI, stupens, attonilus
sum. He immediately gives the reason why he was struck
dumb ; because he was a man of polluted hps, and dwelt
among a people of polluted lips ; and was unworthy either to
join the seraphim in singing praises to God, or to be the mes-
senger of God to his people. Compare Exod. iv. 10. vi. 12.
Jer. i. 6.
6. from off the altai'.] That is, from the altar of burnt-
offering, before the door of the temple ; on which the fire that
came down at first from Jieaven, Lev. ix. 24. 2 Chron. vii. 1.
was perpetually kept burning : it was never to be extinguish-
ed. Lev. vi. 12, 13.
9. Thirteen MSS have nN"i, in the regular form.
10. Make gross — ] The Prophet speaks of the event, the
fact as it would actually happen ; not of God's purpose and
act by his ministry. The Prophets are in other places said to
perform the thing which they only foretell : —
" Lo ! I have given thee a charge this day,
Over the nations, and over the kingdoms ;
To pluck up, and to pull down ;
To destroy, and to demolish ;
To build, and to plant." Jer. i, 10.
And Ezekiel says, " when I came to destroy the city ; "
that is, as it is rendered in the margin of our version,
" when I came to prophesy, that the city should be destroy-
ed ; " chap, xliii. 3. To hear, and not understand ; to see,
and not perceive ; is a common saying in many languages.
Demosthenes uses il, and expressly calls it a proverb : &s-£ fo
TY,^ lucc^oif^ixi o^uvrui 1^ ''^'^y-i ""*' dKavovrcni jtuj uKovcit : Contra
Aristogil, i. sub fin. The Prophet, by the bold figure in the
sentiment above-mentioned, and the elegant form and con-
struction of the sentence, has raised it from a common proverb
into a beautiful ?;?«57ir//. and given it the sublime air of poetry.
Ibid. — close up] >&n : this word Sal. b. Melee, ex-
plains to this sense, in which it is hardly used elsewhere, on
the authority of Onkelos. He says, it means closing up the
eyes, so that one cannot see ; tiiat the root is ;'iiy, l)y which
word the Targum has rendered the word no, Lev. xiv. 42.
n»3 nx ntJi, " and shall plaster the house." And the
word HD is used in the same sense, Isa. xliv. 18. So that it
signifies to close up the eyes by some matter spread upon
the lids. Mr. Harmer very ingeniously applies to this pas-
CHAP. VI. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 185
sage a practice of sealing up the eyes as a ceiemonv, or as a
kind of punishment, used in the East, from which the image
may possibly be taken. Observations, ii. 278.
Ibid. — with their hearts.] i:3D^3i, fifteen MSS, and two
editions.
Ibid. — and I should' heal.] NiJiNi, LXX, Vulg. So
likewise Matt. xiii. 14. John xii. 40. Acts xxviii. 27.
II. — he left.] For riNuri, LXX and Vulg. read -ix'^Ti.
13. — a tenth part] This passage, though someAvhat
obscure, and variously explained by various interpreters,
yet, I think, has been made so clear by the accomplishment
of the prophecy, that there remains little room to doubt of
the sense of it. When Nebuchadnezzar had carried away
the greater and better part of the people into captivity,
there was yet a tenth remaining in the land, the poorer
sort, left to be vine-dressers and husbandmen, under Geda-
liah, 2 Kings xxv. 12. 22.; and the dispersed Jews gathered
themselves together, and returned to him, Jer. xl. 12.: yet
even these, fleeing into Egypt after the death of Gedaliah,
contrary to the warning of God given by the Prophet Jere-
miah, miserably perished there. Again, in the subsequent
and more remarkable completion of the prophecy, in the
destruction of Jerusalem and the dissolution of the com-
monwealth by the Romans, when the Jews, after the loss of
above a million of men, had increased from the scanty resi-
due that was left of them, and had become very numerous
again in their countr)^ ; Hadrian, provoked by their rebel-
lious behaviour, slew above half a million more of them, and
a second time almost extirpated the nation. Yet after these
signal and almost universal destructions of that nation, and
after so many other repeated exterminations and massacres
of them, in different times and on various occasi-ons since,
we yet see, with astonishment, that the stock still remains,
from which God. according to his promise, frequently given
by his Prophets, will cause his people to shoot forth again, and
to flourish.
For D3, above seventv MSS (eleven ancient) read n:) ; and
so LXX.
CHAPTER VII.
The confederacy of Retsin king of Syria, and Pekah
king of Israel, against the kingdom of Judah, was formed in
the time of Jotham ; and perhaps the effects of it were felt
21*
186 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. VII.
in the latter part of his reign : see 2 Kings xv. 37. and
note on chap. i. 7 — 9. However, in the very beginning
of the reign of Ahaz, tliey jointly invaded Judah with a
powerful army, and tlircatened to destroy, or to dethrone,
the house of David. 'J'he Icing and royal family being in
the utmost consternation on receiving advices of their designs,
Isaiah is sent to them to support and comfort them in llieir
present distress, by assuring them, that God would make
good his promises io David and his house. This makes the
subject of this, and the following, and the beginning of the
ninth chapters ; in which there are many and great diffi-
culties.
Chapter vii. begins with an historical account of the occa-
sion of this prophecy ; and then follows, ver. 4 — 16. a pre-
diction of the ill success of the designs of the Israelites and
S3Tians against Judah ; and, from thence to the end of the
chapter, a denunciation of the calamities to be brought upon
the king and people of Judah by the Assyrians, whom they
had now hired to assist them. Chapter viii. has a pretty
close connexion with the foregoing : it contains a confirma-
tion of the projDhecy before given of the approaching de-
struction of the kingdoms of Israel and Syria by the Assy-
rians ; of the denunciation of the invasion of Judah by the
same Assyrians : ver. 9, 10. give a repeated general assur-
ance, that all the designs of the enemies of God's people shall
be in the end disappointed, and brought to nought: ver. 11,
&-C. admonitions and threaleniugs, (1 do not attempt a more
particular explanation of this very dilhcult part), concluding
with an illustrious prophecy (chap. ix. I — ij.) of the mani-
festation of Messiah ; the transcendent dignity of his char-
acter ; and the universality and eternal duration of his
kingdom.
4. The Syriac omits dint ; Vulg. reads dix "jbo : one or the
other seems to be the true readinu'. I prefer tlic former ; or,
instead of pi di«i, read p npDi, MS.
8, 9. Though the head of Syria be Damascus,
And tlie head of Damascus, Retsin ;
Yet within threescore and five years
Epluaim shall be broken, that he be no more a people :
And the head of Ephraim be Samaria ;
And the head of Samaria, Remaliah's son.]
" Here are six lines, or three distichs, the order of which
seems to have been disturbed by a transposition, occasioned
by three of the lines beginning with the same word lyxii ;
CHAP. YII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 187
which three hues ought not to have been separated by any-
other hne intervening; but a copyist, having written the
first of them, and casting his eye on the third, might easily
proceed to write, after the first hne beginning with li'X'ii,
that which ought to have followed the third line beginning
with lyxii. Then, finding his mistake, to preserve the
beauty of his copy, added at the end the distich which
should have been in the middle ; making that the second
distich which ought to have been the third. For the order
as it now stands is preposterous : the destruction of Ephraim
is denounced, and then their grandeur is set forth ; whereas
naturally the representation of the grandeur of Ephraim
should precede that of their destruction. And the destruc-
tion of Ephraim has no coherence with the grandein- of
Syria, simply as such, which it now follows; but it naturally
and properly follows the grandeur of Ephraim, joined to that
of Syria their ally.
" The arrangement then of the whole sentence seems
originally to have been thus :
" Though the head of Syria be Damascus;
And the head of Damascus, Retsin:
And the head of Ephraim be Samaria;
And the head of Samaria, Remaliah's son:
Yet within threescore and five years
Ephraim shall be broken, that he be no more a people."
Dr. JuBB.
8. — threescore and jive years] It was sixty-five years
from the beginning of the reign of Ahaz, when this pro-
phecy was delivered, to the total depopulation of the king-
dom of Israel by Esarhaddon, who carried away the re-
mains of the ten tribes which had been left by Tiglath
Pileser and Shalmaneser, and who planted the country with
new inhabitants. That the country was not wholly stripped
of its inhabitants by Shalmaneser, appears from many pas-
sages of the history of Josiah ; where Israelites are men-
tioned as still remaining there, 2 Chron. xxxiv. 6, 7. 33.
and XXXV. 18. 2 Kings xxiii. 19, 20. This seems to be the
best explanation of the chronological difficulty in this place,
which has much embarrassed the commentators: see Usserii
Annal. V. T. ad an. 3327 ; and Sir I. Newton, Chronol. p. 283.
" That the last deportation of Israel by Esarhaddon was
in the sixty-fifth year after the second of Ahaz, is probable,
for the fohowing reasons : The Jews, in Seder 01am Rabba,
188 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. VII,
and the Talmudist^, in D. Kimclii on Kzek. iv. say, tliat
Manasseh king of J ulah was carried to Babylon by the king
of Assyria's captains, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11. in the twenty-
second year of his reign ; that is, before Christ 676, accord-
ing to Dr. Blair's tables. And they are probably right in
this. It could not be nuich earlier ; as the king of Assyria
was not king of Babylon till GSO ; ibid. As Esarhaddon
was then in the neighbourhood of .Samaria, it is highly pro-
bable that he did then carry away the last remains of Israel ;
and brought those strangers (hilher, who mention him as
their founder, Ezra iv. 2. But this year is just (he sixty-
fifth year from the second of Ahaz, which was 740 before
Christ. Now the carrying away of the last remains of
Israel, (who, till then, (hougli their kingdom was destroyed
forty-five years before, and though small in number, yet
might keep up some form of being a people, by living ac-
cortling to their own laws), entirely put an end to the peo-
ple of Israel, as a people separate from all others : for from
this time they never returne I to their own country in a body,
but were confounded with the people of Judah in the captivity ;
and the whole people, the ten tribes included, were called
Jews.'' Dr. Jube.
9. If ye believe not — ] " This clause is very much illus-
trated, by cousidering the captivity of Manasseh as happen-
ing at the same time with this predicted final ruin of
Ephraim as a people. The near connexion of the two
facts makes the prediction of the one naturally to cohere
with the prediction of the other. And the words are weU
suited to this event in the history of the peoj)le of JiRlah.
" If ye believe not, ye shall not be established ; " tliat is,
unless ye believe this |)rophecy of the destruction of Israel,
ye Jews also, as well as the people of Israel, shall not re-
main established as a kingdom and people; ye also shall be
visited with |iui)ishmei)t at the same time: As our Saviour
told the Jews in bis time, " uiiles-s ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish ; '' intimating their destruction by (he Ro-
mans ; to whii h also, as well as to the captivity of Manasseh,
and to the Babylonish cajilivity, the views of the Prophet
might here extend. The close connexion of this threat to the
Jews, with the prophecy of the destruction of Israel, is another
strong pioof, that the order of (lie preceding lines above pro-
posed is right." Dr. Junn.
Ibid. If ye hc'lieve not In mr — ] The exhortation of Je-
hoshaphat to his people, when (mmI had jjromised to them, by
CHAP. VII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 189
the Prophet Jahaziel, victory over the Moabites and Ammon-
ites, is very hke this, both in sense and expression, and seems
to be deUvered in verse :
" Hear me, O Judah ; and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem!
Beheve in Jehovah your God, and ye shall be established:
Believe his prophets, and ye shall prosper." 2 Chron xx. 20.
Where both the sense and construction render very proba-
ble a conjecture of Archbishop Seeker on this place ; that
instead of o we should read 'j. " If ye will not believe m
one, ye shall not be established." So likewise Dr. Durell.
The Chaldee has, " If ye will not believe in the words of the
Prophet , " which seems to be a paraphrase of the reading
here proposed. In favour of which it may be further ob-
served, that in one MS o is upon a rasure ; and another for
the last xS reads n*?! ; which would properly follow 'd, but
could not follow ^3.
11. Go deep to iht gravs — ] So Aquila, Sym. Theouot.
Vulg.
14. Jehovah] For 'jnx, twenty-five MSS (nine ancient)
read mn\ And so ver. 20. eighteen MSS.
14- — 16. When he shall know — ] " Though so much
has been written on this important passage, there is an ob-
scurity and inconsequence which still attends it, in the gen-
eral run of all the interpretations given to it by the most
learned. And this obscure incoherence is given to it by the
false rendering of a Hebrew particle, viz. ^7 in )r\}nh. This
has been generally rendered, either "that he may know,"
or " till he know." It is capable of either version, without
doubt. But either of these versions makes ver. 15, incoherent
and inconsistent with ver. 16, For ver. 16. plainly means to
give a reason for the assertion in ver. 1.5. ; because it is sub-
joined to it by the particle 'd, for. But it is no reason why
a child should eat butter and honey till he was at an age to
distinguish, that before that time the land of his nativity
should be free from its enemies. This latter supposition
indeed implies what is inconsistent with the preceding asser-
tion : For it implies, that in part of that time of the infancy
spoken of, the land should not be free from enemies, and
consequently these species of delicate food could not be at-
tainable, as they are in times of peace. The other version,
" that he may know," has no meaning at all : For what sense
is there in asserting, that a child shall eat butter and honey,
190
NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. Vll.
that he may know to refuse evil and choose good? Is there
any such cll'ect in this food ? Surely no. Besides, the child
is thus represented to eat those things, which only a stale of
peace produces, during its whole infancy, inconsislenlly with
ver. 16. which promises a relief from enemies only before the
aid of this infancy ; implying plainl}^, that part of it would
be passed in distressful times of war and siege ; which was
the state of things when the prophecy was delivered.
" But all tliese oljjections are cut off, and a clear cohe-
rent sense is given to this passage, by giving another sense
to the particle ^7 ; which never occurred to nie till I saw it
in Harmer's Observal. vol. i. p. 299. See how coherent
the words of the Prophet run, with how natural a connexion,
one clause follows another, by properly rendering this one
particle : — ■' l]ehold this virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and thou shall call his name Immanuel : Butter and honey
shall he eat, when he shall know to refuse evil, and choose
good. For, before this child shall know to refuse evil, and
choose good, the land shall be desolate, by whose two kings
thou art distressed." Thus ver. 16. subjoins a plain reason
why the child should eat butter and honey, the food of plen-
tiful times, when he came to a distinguishing age ; viz. be-
cause before that time the country of the two kings, who now
distressed Judea, should be desolated ; and so Judea should
recover that plenty which attends peace. That this render-
ing, which gives perspicuity and rational connexion to the
passage, is according to the use of the Hebrew particle is
certain. Thus, ip3 hud'?, " at the appearing of n)orning,
or, w.'ien morning appeared;" Exod. xiv. 27. ^D.sn n;''?^
^'' at meal-time, or, ichcn it was time to eat;" Ruth. ii. 14.
In the same manner, in;*-)'?, " at his knowing, that is, uhen
he knows."
" Harnier (Ibid.)) has clearly shewn, that ihes^ articles of
food are delicacies in the East ; and as such denote a state
of plenty. See also .Tosh. v. 6. They therefore naturally
express the plenty of the coiuitry, as a mark of peace re-
stored to it. Indeed, ver. 22. it expresses a plenty arising
from the thinness of the people; but that it signifies, ver. 15.
a plenty arising from deliverance from war then present, is
evident ; because otherwise there is no expression of this
deliverance. And that a deliverance was intended to be
here expressed is plain, from calling the child, which should
be born, Immanuel, God with us. It is plain, also, because
CHAP. VII, ROTE& ON I&AIAH, 191
it is before given to the Piopliet in charge to make a decla-
ration of the deliverance, ver. 3 — 7.; and it is there made ;
and this prophecy must undoubtedly be conformable to that in
this matter." Dr. .Tube.
The circimistance of the child's eating butter and honey
is explained by Jarchi as denoting a state of plenty : " Buty-
rum et mel comedet infans iste, quoniam terra nostra plena
erit omnis boni : " Comment, in locum. The infant .Tupiter,
says Callimachus, was tenderly nursed with goat's milk and
honey : Flymn. in Jov. 48. Homer, of the orphan daughters
of Pandareus,
Tyfw, YMi i^iXiTi yXvx.s^oj, kxi 'yjsi otvai." Odyss, XX. 68,
"Venus in tender delicacy rears
With honey, milk, and wine, their infant years." Pope,
Tff^sj? is-iv £v^<|(5' " This is a description of delicate food,"
says Eustathius on the place.
Agreeably to the observations commnnicated by the
learned person above-mentioned, which perfectly well ex-
plain the historical sense of this much-disputed passage, not
excluding a higher secondary sense, the obvious and hterai
meaning of the prophecy is this : ' That within the time that
a young woman, now a virgin, should conceive and bring
forth a child, and that child should arrive at such an age
as to distinguish between good and evil, that is, within a
few years, (compare chap. viii. 4), tlie enemies of Judah
should be destroyed.' But the prophecy is introduced in so
solemn a manner ; tlie sign is so marked, as a sign selected
and given by God himself, after Ahaz had rejected the offer
of any sign of his own choosing out of the whole compass
of nature ; the terms of the prophecy are so peculiar, and
the name of the child so expressive, containing in them
much more than the circmnstances of the birth of a common
child required, or even admitted ; that we may easily sup-
pose, that, in minds prepared by the general expectation of
a great Deliverer to spring from the house of David, they
raised hopes far beyond what the present occasion suggested ;
especially when it was found, that in the subsequent pro-
phecy, delivered immediately afterward, this child, called
Immanuel, is treated as the Lord and Prince of the land of
Judah. Who could this be, other than the heir of the
throne of David ? under which character a great and even
192 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. VII.
a divine person bad been promised. ISo one of Uiat age
answered to tbis cbaracter, except Hezekiab ; but he was
certainly born nine or ten years before the delivery of this
prophecy. Tliat this was so understood at that time, is
collected, I think, with great probability, from a passage of
INIicah, a Prophet contemporary with Isaiah, but who began
to prophesy after him ; and wbo, as I have already observed,
imitated him, and sometimes used his expressions. Micah,
having delivered that remarkable prophecy, which deter-
mines the place of the birth of Messiah. " the ruler of God's
people, whose goings forth have been of old, from everlast-
ing; " that it should be Bethlehem Ephrata; adds imme-
diately, that nevertheless, in the mean lime, God would
deliver his people into the hands of their enemies : " he will
give them up, till she, who is to bear a child, shall bring
forth ; "' jMicah. v. 3. This obviously and plainly refers to
some known prophecy concerning a woman to bring forth
a child ; and seems much more properly applicable to this
passage of Isaiah, than to any others of the same Prophet,
to which some interpreters have applied it. JSt. Matthew,
therefore, in applying this prophecy to the birth of Christ,
does it not merely in the way of accommodaling the words of
the Prophet to a suitable case not in the Prophet's view ; but
takes it in its strictest, clearest, and most important sense, and
applies it according to the original design and principal inten-
tion of the Prophet.
17. But Jehovah will bri)ig] Houbigant reads x'n,
from LXX ; aAA« eTra^si i ©£«« : to mark the transition to a
new subject.
Ibid. Uvc?i the king of Assyria — ] Houbigant supposes
these words to have been a marginal gloss, brought into the
text by mistake ; and so likewise Archbp. Seeker. Besides
their having no force or effect here, they do not join well in
conslruclion with the words preceding ; as may be seen by
the strange manner in which the ancient interpreters have
taken them ; and they very inelegantly forestall the mention
of the king of Assyria, which comes in with great propriety
in the 2(Jth verse. 1 have therefore taken the liberty of omit-
ting them in the translation.
18. — liist thejli/] See note on chap. v. 26.
Ibid. Egypt and Assyria] Senacherib, Esarhaddon,
Pharao ISeclio, and Nebuchadnezzar, who one after another
desolated Judca.
CHAP. VII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 193
19. — caverns] So LXX, Syr. Yu\g. whence Houbigant
supposes the true reading to beD"h''7njn.
20. — the river] That is, the Euphrates ; nron, so read
the LXX, and two MSS.
Ibid. Jehovah shall shave hy the hired rasor — ] To
shave with the hired rasor the head, the feet, and the beard,
is an expression highly parabohcal ; to denote the utter de-
vastation of the country from one end to the other, and the
plundering of the people, from the highest to the lowest, by
the Assyrians ; whom God employed as his instrument to
punish the Jews, Ahaz himself, in the first place, hired the
king of Assyria to come to help him against the Syrians,
by a present made to him of all the treasures of the temple,
as well as his own : And God himself considered the great
nations, whom he thus employed, as his mercenaries, and
paid them their wages : thus he paid Nebuchadnezzar for
liis services against Tyre, by the conquest of Egypt ; Ezek.
xxix. IS — 2U. The hairs of the head are those of the high-
est order in the state ; those of the feet, or the lower parts,
are the common people; the beard is the king, the high-
priest, the very supreme in dignity and majesty. The
eastern people have always held the beard in the highest
veneration, and have been extremely jealous of its honour.
To pluck a man's beard is an instance of the greatest in-
dignity that can be offered. See Isa. 1. 6. The king of the
Aininonites, to shew the utmost contempt of David, "cut
off half the beards of his servants ; and the men were greatly
ashamed : and David bade them tarry at Jericho till their
beards were grown ;" 2 Sam. x. 4, 5. Niebuhr, Arabie, p.
275. gives a modern instance of the very same kind of insult.
" The Turks," says Thevenot, "greatly esteem a man who
has a fine beard : it is a very great affront to take a man by
his beard, unless it be to kiss it: they swear by the beard ; "
Voyages, i. p. 57. D'Arvicux gives a remarkable instance
of an Arab, who, having received a wound in his jaw, chose
to hazard his life, rather than suffer his surgeon to take off
his beard. Memoires, torn. iii. p. 214. See also Niebidir,
Arabie, p. 61.
The remaining verses of this chapter, 21 — 25. contain
an elegant and very expressive description of a country
depopulated, and left to run wild, from its adjuncts and cir-
cumstances: the vineyards and corn-fields, before well cul-
tivated, now overrun with briers and thorns ; much grass,
22
194 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. VII.
SO that the few cattle that are left, a young cow and two
sheep, have their full range, and abundant pasture, so as
to yield milk in plenty to the scanty family of the owner ;
the thinly scattered people, living not on corn, wine and oil,
the produce of cultivation, but on milk and honey, the gifts
of nature ; and the whole land given up to the wild beasts :
so that the miserable inhabitants are forced to go out armed
with bows and arrows, either to defend themselves against
the wild beasts, or to supply themselves with necessary food
by hunting.
CHAPTER VIII.
The prophecy in the foregoing chapter relates directly to
the kingdom of Judah only : the first part of it promises them
deliverance from the united invasion of the Israelites and
Syrians ; the latter part, from vcr. 17. denounces the de-
solation to be brought upon the kingdom of Judah by the
Assyrians. The 6th, 7th, and 8th verses of this chapter,
seem to take in both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
" This people, that refuseth the waters of Siloah," may be
meant of both: the Israelites despised the kingdom of Judah,
which they had deserted, and now attempted to des roy ; the
people of Judah, from a consideration of their own weak-
ness, and a distrust of God's promises, being reduced to
despair, applied to the Assyrians for assistance against the
two confederate kings. But how could it be said of Judah,
that they rejoiced in Retsia and the son of Remaliah, the
enemies confederated against them ? If some of the people
were inclined to revolt to the enemy, which however does
not clearly appear from any part of the history or the pro-
phecy, yet there was nothing like a tendency to a general
defection. This, therefore, must be understood of Israel.
The Prophet denounces the Assyrian invasion, which should
overwhelm the whole kingdom of Israel under Tiglath Pile-
ser and Shalmancser : and the subsequent invasion of Judah
by the same power under Senachcrib, which would bring
them into the most inunincnt danger, like a flood reaching
to the neck, in which a man can but just keep his head
above water. The two next verses, 9, 10. are addressed by
the Prophet, as a subject of the kingdom of Judah, to the
Israelites and Syrians ; and perhaps to all the enemies of
God's people ; assuring them, that their attempts against
CHAP. VIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 195
that kingdom shall be fruitless; for that the promised Im-
maniiel, to whom he alludes by using his name to express
the signification of it, /or God is with us, shall be the de-
fence of the house of David, and deUver the kingdom of
Judah out of their hands. He then proceeds to warn the
people of Judah against idolatry, divination, and the like
forbidden practices ; to which they were much inclined, and
which would soon bring down God's judgments upon Israel.
The prophecy concludes, at the 6th verse of chap. ix. with
promises of blessings in future times, by the coming of the
great Deliverer already pointed out by the name of Imman-
uel, whose person and character is set forth in terms the most
ample and magnificent.
And here it may be observed, that it is almost the con-
stant practice of the Prophet to connect in like manner de-
liverances temporal with spiritual. Thus the xith chapter,
setting forth the kingdom of Messiah, is closely connected
with the xtb, which foretells the destruction of Senacherib.
So likewise the destruction of nations, enemies to God, in
the xxxivth chapter, introduces tlie flourishing state of the
kingdom of Christ in the xxxvth. And thus the chapters,
from xl. to xlix. inclusive, plainly relating to the deliverance
from the captivity of Babylon, do in some parts as plainly
relate to the great deliverance by Christ.
1. Take unto thee a large mirror — ] The word r'7J is
not regularly formed from ^Sj, to roll, but from n"7: ; as |rna
from ma, ]vbD from rh2, jrpj from npj, \v^yi from rh^,
&c. the ' supplying the place of the radical n. nbj signifies
to shew, to reveal ; properly, as Schroederus says, (De
Vestitu Mulier. Hebr. p. 294.), to render clear and bright
by rubbing, to polish : p'^J, therefore, according to this de-
rivation, is not a roll, or volume, but may very well signify
a polished tablet of metal, such as anciently was used for a
mirror : the Chaldee paraph rast renders it by ni'?, a tablet ;
and the same word, though somewhat differently pointed,
the Chaldee paraphrast and the Rabbins render a mirror,
chap. iii. 23. The mirrors of the Israelitish women were
made of brass finely polished, Exod. xxxviii. 8. ; from which
place it likewise appears, that what they used were little
hand-mirrors, which they carried with them, even when they
assembled at the door of the tabernacle. I have a metalline
mirror, found in Herculaneum, which is not above three
inches square. The prophet is commanded to take a
196 >'OTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. VIII.
minor, or brazen polished tablet, not like these little hand-
mirrors, but a large one ; large enough for him to engrave
upon it, in deep and lasting characters, IS'UN Dinr, with a
workman's graving tool, the pro[)hecy which he was to de-
liver. L)"in in this place certainly signifies an instrument
to write, or to engrave w-ith ; but D'ln, the same word, only
diflering a httle in the form, means something belonging to
a lady's dress, chap. iii. 22. (where however five MSS leave
out the ', whereby only it differs from the word in this
place) ; either a crisping-pin, which might be not unlike a
graving tool, as some will have it; or a purse, as others
infer from 2 Kings v. 23. It may tlierefore be called here
WMH Din, a workman's instrument, to distinguish it from
ni^N D'ln, an instrument of the same name used by the
women. In this manner he was to record the prophecy of
the destruction of Damascus and Samaria by the Assyrians :
the subject and sum of which prophecy is here expressed
with great brevity in four words, maker slialal, hash baz ;
i. e. "to hasten the spoil, to take quickly the prey :" which
are afterwards applied as the name of the Prophet's son,
who was made a sign of the speedy completion of it : Maher-
shalal Hash-baz; Haste-to-the-spoil Quick-to-the-prey. And
that it might be done with the greater solemnity, and to pre-
clude all doubt of the real delivery of the prophecy before the
event, he calls witnesses to attest the recording of it.
4. For before the child — ] The prophecy was according-
ly accomplished within three years ; when Tiglath Pileser,
king of Assyria, went up against Damascus, and took it, and
carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Retsin ; and
also took the Reubenites, and the Gadiies, and ilie half tribe
of Manasseh, and carried them captive to Assyria ; 2 Kings
xvi. 9. XV. 29. 1 Chron. v. 26.
6, 7. Becaiis'j this peoj)Ie have rejected — ] The gentle
waters ofSiloah, a small fountain and brook just without
Jertisalem, which supplied a pool within the city for the use
of the inhabitants, is an apt eml)lem of the state of the king-
dom and house of David, much reduced in its apparent
strength, yet supported by the blessing of God : and is fine-
ly contrasted with the waters of the Kuphialos, great, rapid,
and impetuous; the image of the l>al)yli'nian empire, which
God threatens to bring (U)\vn, like a mighty Hood, u|)()n all
these apostates of both kingdoms, as a punishment for their
manifold ini(piities, and their contem|)(uous disregard of his
CHAP. VIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 107
promises. The brook and the river are put for the king-
doms to which they belong, and the different states of which
respectively they most aptly represent. Juvenal, inveighing
against the corruption of Rome by the importation of Asiatic
manners, says, with great elegance, that the Orontes has been
long discharging itself into the Tiber : —
" Jampridem Syrus in Tiberim defluxit Orontes."
And Virgil, to express the submission of some of the eastern
countries to the Roman arms, says, that the waters of Eu-
phrates now flowed more humbly and gently : — " Euphrates
ibat jam moUior undis : " iEn. viii. 726. But the happy
contrast between the brook and the river gives a peculiar
beauty to this passage of the Prophet, with which the simple
figure in the Roman poets, however beautiful, yet uncon-
trasted, cannot contend.
8. Even to the neck shall he reach] He compares Jeru-
salem (says Kimchi) to the head in the human body : as
when the waters come up to a man's neck, he is very near
drowning ; for a little increase of them would go over his
head : so the king of Assyria coming up to Jerusalem was
like a flood reaching to the neck ; the whole country was
overflowed, and the capital was in imminent danger. Ac-
cordingly the Chaldee renders reaching to the neck, by reach-
ing to Jerusalem.
9. Know ye this\ God by his Prophet plainly declares
to the confederate adversaries of Judah, and bids them regard
and attend to his declaration, (hat all their eflbrts shall be in
vain. The present reading i;,n, is subject to many difficul-
ties : I follow that of the LXX, vj^, ywn. Archbishop
Seeker approves this reading. i;;t, knov) ye ihis^ is parallel
and synonymous to \v\^r\.) give ear: ^o iV, in the next line.
The LXX have likewise very well paraphrased the conclu-
sion of this verse : " When ye have strengthened yourselves,
ye shall be broken ; and though ye again strengthen your
selves, again shall ye be broken : " taking mn as meaning the
same with vovti.
11. As taking me by the hand] Eleven MSS (two an-
cient) read npTHD •• and so Sym. Syr, Vulg.
12. Say ye not, It is holy — ] Ttyp. Both the reading
and the sense of this word are doubtful. The LXX mani-
festly read r^^i/r) ; for they render it by c-xAjj^av, hard. Syr.
and Chald. render it xniD and nno, rebellion. How they
came by this sense of the word, or what they read in their
22*
198 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP, VIII,
copies, is not so clear. But the worst of it is, that neither
of these readings or renderings, gives any clear sense in this
place : For why should God forbid his faithful servants to
say, with the unbelieving Jews, it is hard ; or, there is a
rebellion; or, as our translators render it, a confederacy'}
And how can this be called, '• walking in the way of this
people," ver. 11. which usually means, following their exam-
ple; joining with then^ in religious worship'/ Or what con-
federacy do they mean? Tlie union of the kingdoms of
Syria and Israel against Judah ? That was properly a
league between two independent states ; not an unlawful
conspiracy of one part against another in the same slate ; for
this is the meaning of the word liyp. For want of any satis-
factory interpretation of this place, (hat I can meet with, I
adopt a conjecture of Archbishop Seeker, which he proposes
with great diffidence ; and even seems immediately to give
up, as being destitute of any authority to support it. 1 will
give it in his own words: " Videri potest ex cap. v. IG. et
hujus cap. 13, 14. 19. legendum D'lp, vel w\-\T)^ eadem sen-
tentia, qua u^n'^x, Hos. xiv. 3. Sed nihil necesse est. Vide
enini Jer. xi. 9. Ezek. xxii. 25, Optime tanien sic responde-
rent huic versiculo versiculi 13, 14." The passages of Jere-
miah and Ezekiel, above referred to, seem to me not at all to
clear up the sense of the word-ijyp in this place. But the con-
text greatly favours the conjecture here given, and makes it
highly probable : " Walk not in the way of this people ; call
not their idols holy ; nor fear ye the object of their fear : (that
is, the tTffcsr^stT*, or gods of the idolaters; for so /tar here
signifies, to wit, the thing feared ; so God is called " the fear
of Isaac," Gen. xxxi. 42. 53.): but look up to Jehovah as
your Holy One ; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be
your dread ; and He shall be a holy refuge unto you.'- Here
there is a harmony and consistency running through the
w^iole sentence ; and the latter part naturally arises out of the
former, and answers to it. Observe, that the dillerence be-
tween Tk^p and lynp is chiefly in the transposition of the two
last letters ; for the letters -i and i are hardly distinguishable
in some copies, printed as well as MS ; so that the mistake.
in respect of the letters themselves, is a very easy and a very
common one.
14. And He shall he unto yon a sanctuary.] The word
UJi, unto you^ absolutely necessary, as I conceive, to the
sense, is lost in this place : it is preserved by the Vulgate;
CHAP. VIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 199
" et eril vobis in sanctificationem : " the LXX have it in the
singular number ; irxt croi m uyixTfA-nv. Or else, instead of u^npD,
a saticttwri/, we must read ijpio, a snny-e, which would then
be repeated, without any propriety or elegance, at the end of
the verse. 1'he Chaldee reads instead of it aD\^r2,judff7iieni ;
for he renders it by |;ni3 ; which word frequently answers to
DiJii'D in his paraphrase. A MS has (instead of pxbi lyipo)
pN"7 Dnb ; which clears the sense and construction. But the
reading of the Vulgate is, I think, the best remedy to this
diflficulty ; and is in some degree authorized by crh, the read-
ing of the MS above mentioned.
16. amoun- mt/ disci pies] nrD'73. " The LXX render it,
Tu (Ml f^xSeiv. Bishop Chandler, Defence of Christianity, p.
308. " thinks they read noVo, that it be not understood;
and approves this reading : " Archbishop Secker.
18. God of Hosts] A MS reads mx:3:f ^n^x.
19. iShould tliey seek — ] After ]syv, the LXX, repeating
the word, read ti^lTn : Ovy. ehoi zrpoi 3-sov ecvm eK^^nja-ao-i; Tt
txltirr,<nia-i Trspi rm (^uvrav t«; veKfi^i ; and this repetition of the verb
seems necessary to the sense ; and, as Procopius on the place
observes, it strongly expresses the Prophet's indignation at
their folly.
20. Unto the command, and unto the testimony — ] " Is
not mi>'n here the attested prophecy, ver. 1 — 4.7 and perhaps
mm the command, ver, 11 — 15.? for it means sometimes a
particular, and even a human command ; see Prov. vi. 20.
and vii. 2, 3. where it is ordered to be hid, that is, secretly
kept:" Archbishop Slcker. So Deschamps in his transla-
tion, or rather paraphrase, understands it: " Tenons-nous a
I'instrument authentique. mis en depot par ordre du Seigneur."
If this be right, the 16th verse must be understood in the same
manner.
Ibid, hi which there is no obscurity] tw, as an adjec-
tive, frequently signifies dark, obscure; and the noun "ini?
signifies darkness^ gloominess, Joel ii. 2. if we may judge
by the context :
"A day of darkness and obscurity ;
Of cloud, and of thick vapour ;
As the gloom spread upon the mountains :
A people mighty and numerous ; "
Where the gloom, inK", seems to be the same with the
cloud and thick vapour, mentioned in the line preceding:
see Lam. iv. 8. Job xxx. 30. See this meaning of the word
200 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. VlII,
inty well supported in Christ. MuUer Satura Observationum
Pliilolog. p. 53. Ludg. Bat. 1752. The morning seems to
be an idea wholly incongruous in the passage of Joel : And
in this of Isaiah, the words, " in which there is no morning,"
(for so it ought to be rendered, if in'.y in this place signifies,
according to its usual sense, mortiitig-), seem to give no mean-
ing at all. " It is because there is no light in them," says our
translation : If there be any sense in these words, it is not the
sense of the original ; which cannot justly be so translated.
Clui n'a rien d'obscur ; Deschamps. The reading of LXX
and Syr. nn'iy, Q-ift, affords not any assistance towards the
clearing up of this difficult place.
21. — distressed — ] Instead of r,T2;pj, distressed, the
Vulg. Chald. and Sym. manifestly read ^lj-dj, stumbling, tot-
tering through weakness^ ready to fall ; a sense which suits
very well with the place.
22. And he shall cast his eyes uinoard — ] The learn-
ed professor Michaelis, treating of this place, (Not. in De S.
Poes. Hebr. Prajl. ix.), refers to a passage in the Koran, which
is similar to it. As it is a very celebrated passage, and on
many accounts remarkable, I shall give it here at large, with
the same author's further remarks upon it in another place of
his writings. It must be noted here, that the learned profes-
sor renders to^J in this and the parallel place, chap. v. 30. which
I translate he looketh. by it thundercth, from Schultens, Orig.
Ling. Hebr. lib. i. chap. 2.; of the justness of which rendering
I much doubt. This brings the image of Isaiah more near,
in one circumstance, to that of Mohammed, than it appeius to
be in my translation.
'' Labid, contemporary with Mohammed, the last of the
seven Arabian poets who had the honour of having their poems^
one of each, hung up in the entrance of the Temple of Mecca,
struck with the sublimity of a passage in the Koran, became
a^convert to Mohammedism ; for he concluded, that no man
could write in such a manner, unless he were divinely
inspired.
" One must have a curiosity to examine a passage which
had so great an ellect upon Labid. It is, 1 must own, the
finest that I know in the whole Koran ; but I scarce think
it will have a second time the like effect, so as to tempt any
one of my readers to submit to circumcision. It is in the
second chapter ; where he is speakinii of certain apostates
from the faith. ' They are like,' saith he, ' to a man who
CHAP. VIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 201
kindleth a light. As soon as it begins to shine, God takes
from them the Ught, and leaves them in darkness, that they
see nothing. They are deaf, dumb, and blind ; and return
not into the right way. Or they fare, as when a cloud, full
of darkness, thunder, and lightning, covers the heaven :
when it bursteth, they stop their ears with their fmgers, with
deadly fear ; and God haih the unbelievers in his power.
The hghtnitjg almost robbeth them of their eyes : as often
as it flasheth, they go on by its light ; and when it vanisheth
in darkness, they stand still. If God pleased, they would re-
tain neither hearing nor sight.' That (he thought is beauti-
ful, no one will deny : and Labid, who had probably a mind
to flatter Mohammed, was lucky in finding a passage in ihe
Koran, so li(tle abounding in poetical beauties, to which his
conversion might with any propriety be ascribed. It was
well that he went no further; otherwise his taste for poetry
might have made him again an infidel." Michaehs, Erpenii
Arabische Grammatik abgekurzt, Vorrede, s. 32.
23. — accunwhiled darkness] Either nmJO, fern, to agree
with n?j,s' ; or mjon Sjx, alluding perhaps to the palpable
Egyptian darkness, Exod. x. 21.
Jbid. The land of Zebtdon-—] Zebulon, Naphlhali, Ma-
nasseh, that is, the country of Galilee, all round the rieo. of
Genesareth, were the parts that principally suffered in the
first Assyrian invasion under Tiglath Pileser : see 2 Kings
XV. 29. 1. Chron. v. 26. : and they were the first that en-
joyed the blessing of Christ's preaching the gospel, and ex-
hibiting his miraculous works among them. See Mede's
Works, p. 101. and 457.
CHAPTER IX.
2. Thou hast increased tlieir joy\ Eleven MSS (two
ancient) read iV, according to the JVlasoretical correction.
Ibid. — as witli the joy of harvest] T:fp3 nnrDiyD. For
TXp^ a MSS has Typ, and another T^fpn: one of which
seems to be the true reading, as the noun preceding is in reg-
iminc.
4. The greaves of the armed warrior] |XD pXD. This
word, occurring only in tliis place, is of very doubtful sig-
nification. Schindler fairly tells us, that we must guess at
it by the context, The Jews have explained it, by guess J
202 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. IX,
believe, as Signifying battle^ conflict: the Vulgate renders it
violenta pradaiio. But it seems as if something was rather
meant, which was capable of becoming fuel for the lire
together with the garments mentioned in the same sentence.
In Syriac, the word, as a noun, signifies a shoe or a sandal,
as a learned friend suggested to me some years ago : see
Luke XV. 22. Acts xii. 8. I take it therefore to mean that
part of the armour which covered the legs and feet, and
I would render the two words in Latin by caliga caligati.
The liurniug of heaps of armour, gathered from the field of
battle, as an offering made to the god supposed to be the
giver of victory, was a custom that prevailed among some
heathen nations ; and the Romans used it as an emblem of
peace : which perfectly well suits with the design of the
Prophet in this place. A medal, struck by Vespasian on
finishing his wars both at home and abroad, represents the
goddess Peace, holding an olive branch in one hand, and
with a lighted torch in the other setting fire to a heap of ar-
mour. Virgil mentions the custom :
" Cum primam aciem Proenestc sub ipsa
Stravi, scutorumque incendi victor acervos. " JEn. viii. 561.
See Addison on Medals, Series ii. 18. And there are notices
of s(^ine such practice among the Israelites, and other nations
of the most early times. God promises to Joshua victory
over the kings of Canaan ; " To-morrow I will deliver
them up all slain before Israel : thou shalt hough their
horses, and burn their chariots with fire ; " Josh. xi. 6. See
also Nahuin ii. 13. And the Psalmist employs this image
to express complete victory, and a perfect establishment of
peace :
'' He tnaketh wars to cease, even to the end of the land:
lie brcakcth the bow, and cuttetli the spear in sunder;
And burneth the chariots in the fire." Psal. xlvi. 9.
nibJi', properly planstra, ihe baggage-waggons ; which how-
ever the LiXX and Vulg. render sc2ita, .shields, and Chald.
round shields, to shew the propriety of that sense of the
word from the etymology; which, if admitted, makes the
image the same with that used by the Romans
Ezekiel, in his bold manner, has carried this image to a
degree of amplification, which, I think, hardly any other of
the Hebrew poets would have attempted. He describes
the burning of the arms of the enemy, in consequence of
t!HAP. iX, NOTES ON ISAIAH. 203
the complete victory to be obtained by the Israelites over Gog
and Magog :
'^' Behold, it is come to pass, and it is done;
Saith the Lord Jehovah.
This is the day, of which I spake:
And the inhabitants of the cities of Israel shall go forth;
And shall set on fire the armour, and tlie shield,
And the buckler, and the bow, and the arrows,
And the clubs, and the lances;
And they shall set them on fire for seven years;
And they shall not bear wood from the field;
Neither shall they hew from the forest:
For of the armour shall they make their fires;
And they shall spoil their spoilers.
And they shall plunder their plunderers." Ezek. xxxix 8-10,
5. The gover'nmcnt shall be upon his shoulde?'.] T hat is,
the ensign of government ; the sceptre, the sword, the key,
or the like, which was borne upon or hung from the shoul-
der. See note on chap. xxii. 22.
Chap. ix. 7. — Chap. x. 4.] This whole passage, reduced
to its proper and entire form, and healed of the dislocation
W'hich it suffers by the absurd division of the chapters, makes
a distinct prophecy, and a just poem, remarkable for the
regularity of its disposition, and the elegance of its plan. It
has no relation to the preceding or the following prophecy ;
though the parts, violently torn asunder, have been, on the
one side and the other, patched on to them. Those relate
principally to the kingdom of Judah ; this is addressed ex-
clusively to the kingdom of Israel. The subject of it is a
denunciation of vengeance awaiting their crimes. It is di-
vided into four parts, each threatening the particular pun-
ishment of some grievous offence,- — of their pride; of their
perseverance in their vices ; of their impiety ; and of their
injustice. To which is added a general denunciation of a
further reserve of divine wrath, contained in a distich, be-
fore used by the Prophet on a like occasion, chap. v. 25. and
here repeated after each part : this makes the intercalary
verse of the poem, or, as we call it, the burthen of the song.
" Post hoc comma (chap, x, 4.) interponitur spatium
unius iinese, in cod. 2. et 3. : idemque observatur in 245.
in quo nulhmi est spatium ad finem capitis ix," Kennicott,
Var. Lect.
7. Jehovah.] For -jix, thirty MSS and three editions
read mn\
204 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. IX.
8. — carry themselves houghtily] 'i^n'S o'wc? they shall
know : so our?, and the versions in general. But what is it
that they shall know .^ The verb stands destitute of its ob-
ject ; and the sense is imperfect. The Chaldee is the only
one, as far as I can find, that expresses it otlierwise. He
renders the verb in this place by m^inxi, they exalt thetn-
selves, or carry themselves haughtUy ; the same woid by
which he renders iriDJ, chap. iii. 16. He seems therefore
in this place to have read in^j'i; which agrees perfectly
well with what follows, and clears up the diliiculty. Arch-
bishop Seeker conjectured n^Ti, referring it to "ionS in
the next verse; which shews, that he was not satisfied with
the present reading. Houljigant reads i_j'T1, ct pravi facti
sunt ; which is found in a MS ; but I prefer the reading of
the Chaldee, which suits much better with the context.
9. The bricks — ] " The eastern bricks, (says Sir John
Chardin, see Harmer, Obser. i. p. 176.), are only clay well
moistened wi(h water, and mixed with straw, and dried in
the sun." So that their walls are commonly no better than
our mud-wall : see Maundrell, p. 124. That straw was a
necessary part in the composition of this sort of bricks, to
make tlie parts of the clay adhere together, appears from
Exodus, chap. v. These bricks are properly opjiosed to
hewn stone, so greatly superior in beauty and durableness.
The sycamores, which, as jcrom on the place says, are tim-
ber of little worth, wilh equal propriety are opposed to (he ce-
dars. "As the grain and texture of the sycamore is remark-
ably coarse and spongy, it could therefore stand in no com-
petition at all (as it is observed. Isa. ix. 10.) with the cedar
for beauty and ornament : " Shaw, Supplement to Travels,
p. 96. We meet with the same opposition of cedars to syca-
mores, 1 Kings X. 27. where Solomon is said to have n)ade
silver as the stones, and cedars as the sycamores in the vale,
for abimdance. By this mashal, or figurative and senten-
tious speech, they boast, that ihey shall easily be able to re-
pair their present losses, sufieied perhaps by the first As-
syrian invasion under Tiglath Pileser; and to bring their
alFairs to a more fiourishing condition than ever.
10. — tlie ])rinccs of Rctsin against him] For ■"ly, eiie-
mies^ Houbigant by conjeclme reads '-]z\ princes ; which is
confirmed by twenty-one MSS (two ancient), and nine more
have i* u[)on a rasurc, and therefore had probably at first
n57. The princes of Rctsin, the late ally of Israel, that is,
€HAP. IX. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 205
the Syrians, expressly named in the next verse, shall now be
excited against Israel.
The LXX in this place gives us another variation : for
I'Xi, they read jry in, o^e><; S;»v, Mount Sion ; of which this
may be the sense : But Jehovah shall set up the adversaries
of Mount Sion against hiin (i. e. against Israel), and will
■strengthen his enemies together : the Syrians, — the Philis-
tines,— who are called the adversaries of Mount Sion. See
'S.ijjjonis Lex. in voce pD.
11. — on every side] Hi) '7DD, in every corner; in every
part of their country, pursuing them to the remotest extrem-
ities, and the most retired parts. So the Chald. inx ^D3, in
every place.
13. — in one day] Eight MSS read dv3 ; and another
lias a rasure in the place of the letter 3.
16. Jehovah] For ^jin, eighteen MSS read nin'.
17. i'br iDickedness — ] Wickedness rageth like a fire,
destroying and laying waste the nation : but it shall be its
own destruction, by bringing down the fire of God's wnath,
which shall burn up the briers and the thorns ; that is, the
wicked themselves. Briers and thorns are an image fre-
quently applied in Scripture, when set on fire, to the rage of
the wicked, violent yet impotent, and of no long continuance,
— "they are extinct as the fire of thorns ; " Psal. cxviii. 12. ;
— to the wicked themselves, as useless and unprofitable, proper
objects of God's wrath, to be burned up, or driven away by the
wind, — " as thorns cut up, they shall be consumed in the fire ; "
Isa. xxxiii. 12. Both these ideas seem to be joined in Psal.
Iviii. 9.
"' Before your pots shall feel the thorn,
As well the green as the dry, the tempest shall bear them
away."
The green and the dry is a proverbial expression, meaning all
sorts of them, good and bad, great and small, &c. ; so Ezekiel :
— " Behold, I will kindle a fire, and it shall devour every
green tree, and every dry tree ; " chap. xx. 47. D'Herbelot
quotes a Persian poet describing a pestilence under the image
of a conflagration : — " This was a lightning that, falling upon
a forest, consumed there the green wood with the dry." See
Harmer, Obser. ii. p. 187.
19. — the flesh of his neighbour] "Toy fi^ctx.iojie'; rov xhx<pov
avTou, LXX, Alexand. Duplex Versio, quarum altera legit
i>n, quae vox extat .7er. vi. 21. Nam ;n, cc^iX<poi, Gen. xliii.
23
206 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. IX.
33. Recte, ni fallor : " Secker. I add to this excellent
remark, that the Chaldee manifestly reads i>n, not i;nT ; for
he renders it by D'^np, his neighbour. And Jeremiah has
the very same expression: i'7?N' inp TkVn a^'Ni, "And every
one shall eat the flesh of his neighbour;" chap. xix. 9.
This observation, I thinic, gives the true reading and sense
of this place ; and the context strongly confirms it, by explain-
ino- the general idea by particular instances, in the following
verse : " Every man sball devour the flesh of his neighbour ;
(that is, they shall harass and destroy one another) ; Ma-
nasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim ^Manasseh ; (which
two tribes were most closely connected both in blood and
situation, as brothers and neighbours) ; and both of them in
the midst of their own dissensions shall agree in preying upon
Jiidah." The common reading, " shall devour the flesh of
his own ar7n" in connexion v.ith what follows, seems to make
either an inconsistency, or an anticlimax ; whereas by this
correction the following verse becomes an elegant ilhistration
of the foregoing.
CHAPTER X.
4. Without mc — ] That is, without my aid, they shall
be taken captive even by the captives, and shall be subdued
by the vanquished. " The "• in 'n"73 is a pronoun, as in Hos.
xiii. 4. :" Kimchion the place.
5. Ho to the Assi/rian — ] Here begins a new and dis-
tinct prophecy ; continued to the end of the xiith chapter :
and it appears, from ver. 9 — 11. of this chapter, that this
prophecy was delivered after the taking of Samaria by
Shalmaneser ; which was in the sixth year of the reign of
Hezekiah : and as the former part of it foretells the invasion
of Senachcrib, and the destruction of his armj^, which makes
the whole subject of this chapter, it must have been delivered
before the fourtccnili of the same reign.
Ibid. The staff in u-hosc Jiaud] The word xin in this
place seems to embarrass the sentence. 1 omit it on the au-
thority of the Alexandrine copy of LXX; and five MSS,
(two ancient), for xin nooi, read rryj-^. Archbishop Secker
was not satisfied with the present reading : he proposes
another method of clearing up the sense, by reading on
instead of DT2: " And he is a stall" i/i the dttij of mine indig-
nation."
CHAr. X. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 207
12. Jehovah] For 'jnj^, fourteen MSS, and three edi-
tions, read mrr.
Ibid. — the effect — ] " n£), f. ^u^, vid. xiii. 19. sed confer
Prov. i. 31. xxxi. 16. 31:" Secker. The Chaldee renders
the word 'id by 'nDi>% opera ; which seems to be the true
sense ; and I have followed it.
13. — -strongiy — ] Twelve MSS agree with the Keri in
reading iod without the x. And S. b. Melee and Kimchi
thus explain it : " Them, who dwelled in a great and strong
place, I have brought down to the ground."
15. —its inaster] I have here given the meaning, with-
out attempting to keep to the expression of the original : N^
n', " the no-wood ;" that which is not wood hke itself, but of
a quite diHerent and superior nature. The Flebrews have a
pecuhar way of Joining the negative particle ib to a noun, to
signify in a strong niamier a total negation of the thing ex-
pressed by the noun.
*' How hast thou given help, nD iHl, to the no-strength.^
And saved the arm, ?;,? n'7, of the no-power.''
How hast thou given counsel, noDn ith, to the no-wisdom?"
that is, to the man totally deprived of strength, power, and.
wisdom : Job xxvi. 2. 3.
" Ye that rejoice, im iHl, in no-thing : "
that is, in your fancied strength, which is none at all, a mere
nonentity : Amos vi. 13.
^' For I am God, ty'N ^5b1, and no-man;
The Holy One in the midst of thee, yet do not frequent ci-
ties." Hosea xi. 9.
" And the Assyrians shall fall hy a sword, W'ji. k'?, of no-man;
And a sword of, mx vh, no-mortal shall devour him."
Isa. xxxi. 8.
"Wherefore do ye weigh out your silver, cnb Nl^i^, for the
no-bread." Isa. Iv. 2.
So here ]*;; xb means him who is far from being an iueit piece
of wood, but is an animated and active being ; not an instru-
ment, but an agent.
10. Jehovah] For mx, fifty-two MSS, and six editions,
read nin'.
Ibid. And under his glory] That is, all that he could
boast of as great and strong in his army ; (Sal. b. Melee in
loc); expressed aflervi'ards, ver. 18. by the glory of his forest,
and of his fruitful field.
208 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. X.
17, 18. A7ul he shall hum and consimie his thorn — ]
The briers and thorns arc the common people ; the glory of
Ills forest arc the nobles, and those of highest rank and im-
portance. See note on chap. ix. 17. and compare Ezek. xx.
47. The fire of God's wrath shall destroy them both great
and small, it shall consume them /vow the soul to thejiesh :
a proverbial expression ; sord and body, as we say ; it shall
consume them entirely and altogether. And the few that
escape shall be looked upon as having escaped from the most
nnminent danger ; " as a firebrand j)lucked out of the fire ; "
Amos iv. 11. '^5 ^icizrv^ci, 1 Cor. iii. 15. as a man, when a
house is burning, is forced to make his escape by running
through the midst of the fire.
I follow here the reading of the LXX ; DDJ K?NM, m 'o<psvyuyy
ciTTo (pxoyoi xxia/^svri- Symmachus also renders the latter word
by cpivym.
22, 23. For thoiigh thy ]:>cople, O Israel — ] I have en-
deavoured to keep to the letter of the text, as nearly as I can,
in this obscure passage. But it is remarkable, that neither the
LXX, nor St Paul, Rom. ix. 28. who, except in a few words
of no great importance, follows them nearly in this place, nor
any one of the ancient versions, take any notice of the word
j]Uty, ovcrjlowiug" ; which seems to give an idea not easily
reconcileable willi those with which it is here joined. I. S.
Moerlius (Schol. Philolog. ad Selecta S. Cod. loca) conjec-
tures, that the two last letters of this word are by mistake
transposed, and that the true reading is 1221:?, judging with
strict justice. The LXX might think this sufficiently ex-
pressed by fv ^iKxio(7v\ri. A MS, with St Paul and LXX Alex,
omits '3 in the 22d verse ; sixty-nine MSS, and six editions,
omit Sd in the 23d verse : and so St. Paul, Horn. \x. 28.
The learned Dr. Bagot, dean of Christchurch, Oxford,
in some observations on this place, which he has been so
kind as to communicate to me, and which will appear in
their proper light when he himself shall give them to the
public, renders the word jv^D by arcovrpHsJimcnt, and makes
it refer to the predictions of Moses ; the blessing and the
curse which he laid before tlie people; both conditional,
and depending on their futine conduct. They had by their
disobedience incurred those judgments which were now to
be fully executed upon them. Mis translation is : " The
accomplishment determined overfiows with justice ; for it is
CHAP. X. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 209
accomplished, and that which is determined the Lord God of
Hosts doeth in the midst of the land."
24. and 20. — in the way of Egypt] I think there is a
designed ambiguity in these words. Sonacherib, soon after
his return from his Egyptian expedition, which, 1 imagine,
took him up three years, invested Jerusalem. He is repre-
sented by the Prophet as lifting up his rod in his march from
Egypt, and threatening the people of God, as Pharaoh and
the Egyptians had done when they pursued them to the Red
Sea. But God in his turn vviil lift up his rod over the sea,
as he did at that time, in the way, or after the manner of
Egypt : and as Senacherib has imitated the Egyptians in his
threats, and came full of rage against them from the same
quarter ; so God will act over again the same part that he
had taken formerly in Egypt, and overthrow their enemies
in as signal a manner. It was all to be, both the attack and
the deliverance, "jii^, or "jiiD, as a MS has it in each place, in
the way, or after the manner, of Egypt.
25. Qiiine indignation] Indienatio mea, Vulg. ; \ o^yv-,
LXX I |M.8 ';; e^y)} « kxto, tra, MS. Pachom. ; f^a ti o^yii kutu, c-»,
MS I. D. II. : so that ^d;*;, or D;';n, as a MS has it, seems to
be the true reading.
26. And like his rod tohich he lifted 7/p over the sea\ The
Jewish interpreters suppose here an ellipsis of r, tlie particle
of similitude, before jncorD, to be supplied from the line above :
so that here are two simihtudes; one comparing the destruc-
tion of the Assyrians to the slaughter of the Blidianites at
the rock of Orelj ; the other to that of the Egyptians at the
Red Sea. Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Salomo b. Melee.
27. — from off your shoulders] I follow here the LXX,
who, for pty 'JDo, read DD'r23!J''0, utto rm uf/M^ \iu.m; not being
able to make any good sense out of the present reading. I
will add here the marginal conjectm-es of Archbishop Seeker,
who appears, like all others, to have been at a loss for a
probable interpretation of the text as it now stands, "a. leg.
DDiy ; forte legend, pty mo, vid. cap. v. L Zech. i\'. 14. Et
possunt intetligi Judaii uncti Dei ; Psal. cv. 15. vcl Assyrii
D'Jotya, hie ver, 16. ut dicat Propheta depulsum iri jugum ab
his impositum : sed hoc durius. Vel potest Icgi ':Diy 'JD!J : "
Secker.
28 — 32. He is come to AiatJi — ] A description of the
march of Senacherib's army approaching Jerusalem in order
to invest it, and of the terror and confusion spreading and
23*
210 NOTES OX ISAIAH. CHAP. X.
increasing thiough the several places as lie advanced ; ex-
pressed with great brevity, but finely diversified. The places
here mentioned are all in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem ;
from Ai northward, to Nob westward of it ; from which last
place he might probably liave a prospect of Blount Sion.
Anathoth was within three Roman miles of Jerusalem ; ac-
cording to Eusebius, Jerom, and Josephus : Onomast. Loc.
Hebr. et. Antiq. Jud. x. 7. 3. Nob probably still nearer.
And it should seem from this passage of Isaiah, that Sena-
cherib's army was destroyed near Uie latter of these places.
In coming out of Egypt, he might perhaps join the rest of
his army at Ashdod, after the taking of that place, which
happened about that time, (see chap, xx.) ; and march from
thence near the coast by Lachish and Libnah, which lay in
his way, from south to north, and both which he invested,
till he came to the north-west of Jerusalem ; crossing over to
the north of it, perhaps by Joppa and Lydda, or still more
north through the plain of Esdraelon.
29. They have passed the strait — ] The strait here
mentioned is that of Mich mas, a very narrow passage be-
tween two sharp hills of rocks, (see 1 Sam. xiv. 4, 5.), where
a great army might have been opposed with advantage by a
very inferior force. The author of the book of Judith might
perhaps mean this pass, at least among others : " Charging
them to keep tlie passages of the hill country ; for by them
there was an entrance into Judea, and it was easy to stop
them that would come up ; because the passage was strait,
for two men at the most:" Judith iv. 7. The enemies
having passed the strait without opposition, shews that all
thoughts of making a stand in the open country were given
up, and that their only resource was in the strengtli of the
city.
Ibid. — their hdgivg — ] The sense seems necessarily
to reciuire, that we read lo'? instead of uV These two
words arc in other places mistaken one for the other. Thus
Isa. xliv. 7. for idS read uS, with theChaldee: and in the
same manner Psal. Ixiv. G. with Syr. and Psal. Ixxx. 7. on
the authority of LXX and Syr. beside the necessity of te
sense.
30. Hearken unto her, O Laish ; answer her, O Ana-
thoth /] I follow in this the Syriac version. The Prophet
plainly alludes to the name of the place ; and with a pecu-
liar propriety, if it had its name from its remarkable echo.
CHAP. X. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 211
" ninj;', responsiones : eadeni ratio nominis, quae in nj;r
n'3, locus echus ; nam hodieniim ejus rudeia ostenduntur
in valle, scil. in medio montium, ut referunt Robertas in
Itiner. p. 70. et Monconnysius, p. 301." Simonis Onomas-
ticon Vet. Test.
CHAPTER XI.
The Prophet had described the destruction of the Assy-
rian army under the image of a mighty forest, consisting of
flourishing trees, growing thick togetlier, and of a great
height — of Lebanon itself crowned with lofty cedars ; but
cut down and laid level with the ground by the axe, wielded
by the hand of some powerful and illustrious agent. In op-
position to this image he represents the great person, who
makes the subject of this chapter, as a slender twig, shooting
out from the trunk of an old tree, cut down, lopped to the
very root, and decayed ; which tender plant, so weak in ap-
pearance, should nevertheless become fruitful and prosper.
This contrast shows plainly the connexion between this and
the preceding chapter ; which is moreover expressed by the
connecting particle : And w^e have here a remarkable instance
of that method so common with the Prophets, and particu-
larly with Isaiah, of taking occasion, from the mention of
some great temporal deliverance, to launch out into the
display of the spiritual deliverance of God's people by the
Messiah : for that this prophecy relates to the Messiah,
we have the express authority of St. Paul, Rom. xv. 12.
" Conjungit Parasciam hanc, quae respicit dies futuros
Messise, cum fiducia, quae fuit in diebus Ezekiae : " Kimchi
in ver. L Thus, in the latter part of Isaiah's prophecies, the
subject of the great redemption, and of the glories of Mes-
siah's kingdom, arises out of the restoration of Judah by the
deUverance from the captivity of Babylon, and is all along
connected and intermixed with it.
4. Bi/ the blast of his motith] For a:w:i, by the rod,
Houbigant reads n:iu'3, by the blast of his mouth, from
2iyj, to bloiu. The conjecture is ingenious and probable ;
and seems to be confirmed by the LXX and Chaldee, who
render it, by the word of his mouth ; which answers much
better to the correction than to the present reading. Add
to this, that the blast of his mouthy is perfectly parallel to
the breath of his lips in the next line.
212 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XI..
5. — tlie cincture — ] All the ancient versions, except
that of Symmachus, have two different words for girdle in
the two heniistichs. It is not probable that Isaiah would
have repeated -n:«, when a synonymous word so obvious as
lun occurred. The tautology sccnis to have arisen from
the mistake of some transcriber. The meaning of this verse
is, that a zeal for justice and truth shall make him active
and strong in executing the great work which lie shall un-
dertake. See note on chap. v. 27.
6 — 8. Then shall the tcolf — ] The idea of the renewal
of the golden age, as it is called, is much the same in the
oriental writers with that of the Greeks and Romans: the
wild beasts grow tame ; serpents and poisonous herbs become
harmless ; all is peace and harmony, plenty and happiness :
" Occidct ct serpens, et fallax herba vcneni
Occidct."
" JVec magnos metuent armentaleones."
*' Nee lupus insidias pecori ." Virg.
" Nee vespertinus circumgemit ursus ovile,
Nee intumescit alta viperis humus." Hor.
" Eri^< 07j TUT cfMXP, 07ryi\tx.cc viQpov (V (Via
Kx^^u^o^U)! crivs(r(c',t i^m Xvm^ a/. ikXr,T£t.''^ Theoc.
I have laid before the reader these common passages
from the most elegant of the ancient poets, that he may see
how greatl}' the Prophet on the same subject has the advan-
tage upon the comparison ; how much the former fall short
of that beauty and elegance, and variety of imagery, with
which Isaiah has set forth the very same ideas. The wolf
and the leo})ard not only forbear to destroy the Iamb and
the kid, but even take their abode and lie down together
with them. The calf, and the young lion, and the iatling,
not only come together, but are led (juietly in the same band,
and that by a little child. The heifer and the she-bear not
only feed together, but even lodge their young ones, for
whom they used to be most jealously fearful, in the same
place. All the serpent kind is so perfectly harmless, that the
sucking inHint, and the newly weaned child, puts his iiand
on the basilisk's den, and |)I;iys upon the hole of the aspic.
The lion not oidy abstains iVoui [ireying on the weaker ani-
mals, but becomes tame and domestic, and feeds on straw
like the ox. These are all beautiful circumstances, not
one of which has been touched upon by the ancient poets.
CHAP. XI. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 213
The Arabian and Persian poets elegantly apply the same
ideas, to shew the effects of justice impartially administered,
and firmly supported, by a great and good king :
" Rerum dominus Mahmud, rex potens ;
Ad cujus aquam potum veniunt simul agnus et lupus."
Ferdusi.
" Justitia, a qua mansuetus fit lupus fame astrictus,
Esuriens, licet hinnuleum candidum videat." Ibn Onein.
Jones, Pees. Asiat. Comment, p. 380.
The application is extremely ingenious and beautiful ; but the
exquisite imagery of Isaiah is not equalled.
7. Together — ] Here a word is omitted in the text, nrr,
together ; which ought to be repeated in the second hemis-
tich, being quite necessary to the sense. It is accordingly
twice expressed by the LXX, and Syr.
10. The root of Jesse, u-JiicJi standeth — ] St. John hathf
taken this expression from Isaiah, Rev. v. 5. and xxii. IG.
where Christ hath twice applied it to himself. Seven MSS
have nm> , the present participle. " Radix Iseei dicitur jam
stare, et aliquantum stetisse, in signum populorum :" Vitriuga.
Which rightly explains either of the two readings.
11. Jehovah] For ■'jix, thirty-three MSS, and two edi-
tions, read mrr.
11 — 16. And it shall come to pass in that day — ] This-
part of the chapter contains a prophecy, which certainly re-
mains yet to be accomplished. See Lowth on the place.
13. And the enmity of Judah — ] oniy. "Postulat pars
posterior versus, ut inteliigantur inimicitiai Judee in Eph-
raimum : — et potest Q'-n]f inimicitiam notare, ut D'onJ pceniten-
tiam, Hos. xi. 8 ;" Secker.
15. smite ivith a drought — ] The Chaldee reads nnnn ;
and so perhaps LXX, who have epy/fMum, the word by which
they commonly render it. Vulg. desolabit. The LXX,
Vulg. and Chald. read iriD'-nn, " shall make it passable/' add-
ing the pronoun, which is necessary.
Here is a plain allusion to the passage of the Red Sea.
And the Lord's shaking his hand over the river with his
vehement wind, refers to a particular circumstance of the
same miracle : for " he caused the sea to go back by a
strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land : "
Exod. xiv. 21. The tongue ; a very apposite and descrip-
tive expression for a bay, such as that of the Red Sea : it is
214 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XI.
used in the same sense, Josh. xv. 2. 5. xviii. 19. The Latins
gave the same name to a narrow strip of land running into
the sea : "tenueni producit in a^quora linguam :" Liican, ii.
C13.
Herodotus, i. 189. tells a story of his Cyrus, (a very differ-
ent character from (hat of the Cyrus of the Scriptures and
Xenophon), which may somewhat illustrate this passage ; in
which it is said, that God would inflict a kind of punishment
and judgment on the Euphrates, and render it fordable, by
dividing it into seven streams. " Cyrus being impeded iii his
march to Babylon by the Gyndcs, a deep and rapid river
which falls into the Tigris, and having lost one of his sacred
white horses that attempted to pass it, was so enraged against
the river, that he threatened to reduce it, and make it so shal-
low, that it should be easily fordable even by women, who
should not be up to their knees in passing it. Accordingly,
he set his whole army to work ; and, cutting three hundred
and sixty trenches, from both sides of the river, turned the
waters into them, and drained them oflV
CHAPTER XII.
This hymn seems, by its whole tenor, and by many ex-
pressions in it, much better calculated for the use of the
Christian church, than for the Jewish in any circumstances,
or at any time that can be assigned. The Jews themselves
seem to have applied it to the times of Messiah. On the
last day of the feast of tabernacles, they fetched water in a
golden pitcher from the fountain of Siloah, springing at the
foot of Mount Sion without the city : they brought it through
the water-gate into the teniple, and poured it, mixed with
wine, on the sacrifice as it lay upon the altar, with great re-
joicing. They seem to have taken up this custom, for it is not
ordained in the law of IMoses, as an emblem of future bless-
ings, in allusion to this passage of Isaiah, "Ye shall draw
waters with joy from the fountains of salvation :" expres-
sions, that can hardly be understood of any benefits allbrded
by the Mosaic dispensation. Our Saviour applied the cere-
mony, and the intention of it, to himself, and to the ellu-
sion of the Holy S|)irit, promised, and to be given, by him.
The sense of the Jews in this matter is plainly shewn by the
following passage of the Jerusalem Tahnud : "Why is it
CHAP. XII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 215
called the place, or house, of drawing?" (for that was the
term for this ceremony, or for the place where the water
was taken up) : " Because from thence they draw the Holy
Spirit ; as it is written, And ye shall draw water with joy
from the fountains of salvation." See Wolf. Curse Philol. in
N. T. on John vii. 37. 39.
1. for, though thou hast been angry — ] The Hebrew
phrase, to which the LXX, Vulg. and our translation, have
too closely adhered, is exactly the same with that of St. Paul,
Horn. vi. 17. " But thanks be to God, that ye were the slaves
of sin ; but have obeyed from the heart" — that is, "that,
whereas, or though, ye were the slaves of sin ; yet ye have
now obeyed from the heart the doctrine, on the model of which
ye were formed."
2. — my song — ] The pronoun is here necessary ; and it
is added by LXX, Vulg. Syr. who read 'moi ; as it is in a
MS. Two MSS omit rv : See Houbigant, not. in loc. An-
other MS has it in one word, rrmor. Seven others omit mn*.
See Exod. xv. 2. with Var. Lect. Kennicott.
CHAPTERS XIH. & XIV.
These two chapters (striking off the five last verses of the
latter, which belong to a quite different subject), contain one
entire prophecy, foretelling the destruction of Babylon by
the Medes and Persians ; delivered probably in the reign of
Ahaz, (see Vitringa, i. 380.), about 200 years before the com-
pletion of it. The captivity itself of the, Jews at Babylon,
(which the Prophet does not expressly foretell, but supposes,
in the spirit of prophecy, as what was actually to be effected),
did not fully take place till about 130 years after the
delivery of this prophecy : and the Medes, who are ex-
pressly mentioned, chap. xiii. 17. as the principal agents
in the overthrow of the Babylonian monavcliy, by which
the Jews Vv^ere released from that captivity, were at this
time an inconsiderable people ; having been in a state of
anarchy ever since the fall of the great Assyrian Einpire, of
wdiich they had made a part, under Sardanapalus, and did
not become a kingdom under Deioces till about the 17th of
Hezekiah.
The former part of lliis prophecy is one of the most beauti-
ful examples, that can be given, of elegance of composition,
216 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XIII.
variety of imagery, and sublimity of sentiment and diction, in
the prophetic style ; and tlic latter part consists of an ode of
supreme and singular excellence.
The prophecy opens with the command of God to gather
together the forces which he had destined to this service, ver.
2, 3. Upon which the Prophet immediately hears the tu-
multuous noise of the different nations crowding together to
his standard ; he sees them advancing, prepared to execute
the divine wrath, ver. 4, 5. He proceeds to describe the dread-
ful consequences of this visitation ; the consternation which
will seize those that are the objects of it; and, transferring
unawares the speech from himself to God, ver. 11. sets forth,
under a variety of the most striking images, the dreadful de-
struction of the inhabitants of Babylon which will follow, ver.
11 — 16. ; and the everlasting desolation to which that great
city is doomed, ver. 17 — 22.
The deliverance of Judea from captivity, the immediate
consequence of this great revolution, is then set forth, with-
out being much enlarged upon, or greatly amplified ; chap,
xiv. 1, 2. This introduces, with the greatest ease, and the
utmost propriety, the triumphant song on that subject, ver.
4 — 28. The beauties of which, the various images, scenes,
persons introduced, and the elegant transitions from one to
another, I shall here endeavour to point out in their order ;
leaving a few remarks upon particular passages of these two
chapters to l)e given, after these general observations on the
whole.
A chorus of Jews is introduced, expressing their surprise
and astonishment at the sudden downfall of Babylon, and the
great reverse of fortune that had befallen the tyrant, who, like
his picdecessors, had oppressed his own, and liarassed the
neighbouring kingdoms. These oppressed kingdoms, or their
rulers, are represented under the image of the fir-trees and the
cedars of Lilxinus, frequently used to express any thing in the
political or religious world that is supereminently great and
majestic : the whole earth sliouteth for joy ; the cedars of Li-
banus utter a severe taunt over the fallen tyrant, and boast
their security now he is no more.
The scene is innnediately changed ; and a new set of per-
sons is introduced : The regions of the dead are laid open,
and Hades is represented as rousing up the shades of the
departed monarchs: they rise from their thrones to meet
the king of Babylon at his coming: and insult him on his
CHAP. XIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 217
being reduced to the same low estate of impotence and dis-
solution with themselves. This is one of the boldest proso-
popoeias that ever was attempted in poetry ; and is executed
with astonishing brevity and perspicuity, and with that pe-
culiar force which in a great subject naturally results from
both. The image of the state of the dead, or the Infernum
Poeticum of the Hebrews, is taken fiom their custom of
burying, those at least of the higher rank, in large sepulchral
vaults hewn in the rock. Of this kind of sepulchres there
are remains at Jerusalem now extant ; and some that are
said to be the sepulchres of the kings of Judah : see Maun-
drell, p. 76. You are to form to yourself an idea of an
immense subterraneous vault, a vast gloomy cavern, all
round the sides of which there are cells to receive the dead
bodies : Here the deceased monarchs lie in a distinguished
sort of state, suitable to their former rank, each on his own
couch, with his arms beside him, his sword at his head, and
4he bodies of his chiefs and companions round about him :
see Ezek. xxxii. 27. On which place Sir John Chardin's
MS note is as follows : — " En Mingrelie ils dorment tons
leur epee sous leurs tetes, et leurs autres amies a leur cote ;
€t on les enterre de mesme, leurs armes posees de cette fa-
^on." These illustrious shades rise at once from their couches,
as from their thrones ; and advance to the entrance of the
cavern to meet the king of Babylon, and to receive him with
insults on his fall.
The Jews now resume the speech : They address the king
of Babylon as the morning-star follen from heaven, as the
first in splendour and dignity in the political world fallen from
his high state ; they introduce him as uttering the most ex-
travagant vaunts of his power and ambitious designs in his
former glory : these are strongly contrasted in the close with
his present low and abject condition.
Immediately follows a different scene, and a most happy
image, to diversify the same subject, to give it a new turn
and an additional force. Certain persons are introduced,
who light upon the corpse of the king of Babylon, cast out
and lying naked on the bare ground, among the common
slain, just after the taking of the city ; covered with wounds,
and so disfigured, that it is some time before they know him.
They accost him with the severest taunts, and bitterly ro-
proach him with his destructive ambition, and his cruel
usage of the conquered ; which have deservedly brought.
24
218 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XIII.
upon him this ijrnoniinioiis treatment, so different from that
which those of his rank usually meet with, and wliich slmll
cover his posterity with disgrace.
To complete the whole, God is introduced, declaring the
fate of Babylon, the utter extirpation of tlie royal family, and
the total desolation of the city ; the deliverance of his people,
and the destruction of their enemies ; confnming the irrever-
sible decree by the awful sanction of his oath.
1 l)elieve it may with truth be affirmed, that there is no
poem of its kind extant in any language, in which the sub-
ject is so well laid out, and so happily conducted, with such
a richness of invention, with such variety of images, persons,
and distinct actions, with such rapidity and ease of transi-
tion, in so small a compass, as in this ode of Isaiah. For
beauty of disposition, strength of colouring, greatness of sen-
timent, brevity, perspicuity, and force of expression, it stands
among all the monuments of anticjuity unrivaled.
2. Exalt the voice — ] The word on*?, to thern^ which is
of no use, and rather weakens the sentence, is omitted by an
ancient MS and Vulg.
4. for the battle] The Bodley MS has non'70^. Cyrus's
army was made up of many different nations. Jeremiah
calls it " an assembly of great nations from the north coun-
try," chap. I. 9. And afterwards mentions the kingdoms of
" Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz, (i. e. Armenia, Oorduene,
Pontus vel Phrygia ; Vitring.), with the kings of the Medes ; "
chap. li. 27. 28. See Xenophon. Cyrop.
8. — and they shall be terrified] 1 join this verb, ibn^Ji,
to the preceding verse, with Syr. and Vulg.
Ibid, pangs shall seize them — J The LXX, Syr. and
Chald. read DiinN', instead of junx', which does not express
the pronoun them, necessary to the sense.
10. Yea the stars of heaven — ] The Hebrew poets, to
express happiness, prosperity, the instauration and advance-
ment of states, kingdoms, and potentates, make use of images
taken from the most striking parts of nature, — from the heav-
enly bodies, from the sun, moon, and stars ; which they de-
scribe as shining with increased splendour, and never setting ;
the moon becomes like the meridian sun, and the sun's light
is augmented sevenfold ; see Jsa. xxx. 20. : new heavens and
a new earth are created, and a brighter age conunences.
On the contrary, the overthrow and destruction of king-
don)s is represented by opposite images : the stars are ob-
CHAP. Xlir. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 219
sciired, the moon withdraws her hght, and the sun shines no
more; the earth quakes, and the heavens tremble; and all
things seem tending to their original chaos. See Joel ii. 10.
iii. 15, 16. Amos viii. 9. Matth. xxiv. 29. and De S. Poes.
Hebr. Preel. vi. and ix.
1 1. 1 10 ill visit the world] That is, the Bab3donish em-
pire : as « oix-Hf^isiyi^ for the Roman empire, or for Judea ;
Luke ii. 1. Acts xi. 28. So, universus orbis Romanus, for
tiie Roman empire; Salvian. lib. v. Minos calls Crete his
world : " Creten, quee meus est orbis ; " Ovid. Metamorph.
viii. 99.
14. And the remnant — ] Here is plainly a defect in this
sentence, as it stands in the Hebrew text ; the subject of the
proposition is lost. What is it, that shall be like a roe chased?
The LXX happil)'^ supply it: oj xstr^^fAj/ftftEva;, i;sk^, ^Aerewi-
na?it. A MS here supplies the word 2WV, the inhabitant,
which makes a tolerably good sense ; but 1 much prefer the
reading of the LXX.
Ibid. 77iei/ shall look — ] That is, the forces of the king
of Babylon, destitute of their leader, and all his auxiliaries,
collected from Asia JMinor and other dit;tant countries, shall
disperse, and flee to their respective homes.
15. Every one that is overtaken — ] That is, none shall
escape from the slaughter ; neither ihey who flee singly, dis-
persed and in confusion ; nor they who endeavour to make
their retreat in a more regular manner, by forming compact
bodies, — they shall all be equally cut off by the sword of the
enemy. The LXX have understood it in this sense ; which
they have well expressed : —
Kent iiTivsi G-vvr/yimyoi £i(rt TuStsvIm f't.ciy^y.i^u.
Where for 'r.T7rAcre]cii, MS Pachom. has e>c>c£v6r,T£Tizi ; and o<
r Cod. Marchal. in margine, and MS i. D. 11. ex.x£vrr,er,s-£Ta,i :
which seems to be right, being properly expressive of the
Hebrew.
17. Who shall hold silver of no acconnt] That is, wiio
shall not be induced, by large offers of gold and silver for
ransom, to spare the lives of those whom they have subdued
in battle: their rage and cruelty will get the better of all
such motives. AYe have many examples in the Ihad and in
the ^neid of addresses of the vancjuished to the pity atid
avarice of the vanquishers, to induce them to spare their
lives.
220 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XIII.
" Est domus alta: jacent penitus defossa talenta
Caelati argenti: sunt ami pondera facti
Tnlectique niihi: non hie victoria Teucri^ini
Vertitur; aut anima una dabit discrimina tanta.
Dixerat: /Eneas contra cui talia reddit:
Argenti atque ami memoras qutc multa talenta
Gnatis parce tuis." -3iln. x. 526.
" High in my dome are silver talents roll'd,
"With piles ot^labour'd and unlabour'd gold:
These, to procure my ransom, I resign;
'I'he war depends not on a lite like mine:
One, one poor life can no such ditTerence yield,
Nor turn the mighty balance of the field.
Thy talents, (cried the prince), thy treasur'd store,
Keep for thy sons." Pitt.
It is reiiinrkable, that Xeuoplion ninkes Cyrus open a speech
to his army, and in particular to the Medes, who made the
principal part of it, with praising them for tlieir disregard of
viches. Ava^a Mr.^ot, x-ai Tucivreq oi ■sra^evregj eya vf^xq ei^oi c-ae^&i^, en
ars x,^r,fjt.ciTm S'so/^svoi cvv £,«.«< e^-/:X6iT£: — " Ye Medes, and otiiers
who now hear rue, I well know that you have not accom-
])anied mc in this expedition with a view of ac([uiring wealih: "
Cyrop. lib. v.
18. Their hov's shall dash — ] Both Herodotus, i. Gl.
and Xenophon, Anab. iii. mention, that the Persians used
large bows, ro^a f^eyecXn: and tlie latter says particularly, that
their bows were three cubits long ; Anab. iv. They were
celebrated for their archers : see chap. xxii. 6. Jer. xlix. 35.
Prol)ably their neighbours and allies, the Medes, dealt much
in the same sort of arms. In Psal. xviii. 35. and .Tob. xx.
24. mention is made of a bow of brass : If the Peisinn bows
were of metal, we may easily conceive, that with a metalline
bow of three cubits length, and proportionably strong, the
soldiers might d:ish and slay tlie young men, the weaker and
imresisting part of the inhabitaiUs, (lor they are joined with
the fruit of the womb and the chiklien), in the general car-
nage on taking the city.
18. And on the fruit — ] A MS reads nD b>'i. And
nine MSS (three ancient) and two editions, with LXX, Viilg.
Syr. add likewise the conjunction i to S;* afterward.
19. And Ijabj/loii] The great city of Babylon was at (his
time rising to its height of glory, while the Prophet Isaiah,
was repeatedly denouncing its utter destruction. From the
first of llezekiah to the first of Nebuchadnezzar, under
CHAP. XIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 221
whom it was brought to the highest degree of strength and
splendour, are about one hundred and twenty years. I will
here very briefly mention some particulars of the greatness
of the place, and note the several steps by which this re-
markable prophecy was at length accomplished in the total
ruin of it.
It w\a?, according to the lowest account given of it by
ancient historians, a regular square, forty-five miles in com-
pass, enclosed by a wall t\vo;hundrcd feet high, fifty broad ;
in which there were a hundred gates of brass. Its principal
ornaments were the temple of Belus, in the middle of which
was a (ower of eight stories of building, upon a base of a
quarter of a mile square; a most magnificent palace ; and the
famous hanging gardens ; which were an artificial mountain,
raised upon arches, and planted with trees of the largest as
well as the most beautiful sorts.
Cyrus took the city by diverting the waters of the Eu-
phrates, which ran through the midst of it, and entering the
place at night by the dry chnnnel. The liver, being never
restored afterward to its proper course, overflowed the whole
country, and made it little better than a great morass : Tins,
and the great slaughter of the inhabitants, with other bad
consequences of the taking of the city, was the first step to
the ruin of the place. The Persian monarchs ever regarded •
it with a jealous eye ; they kept it under, and took care to
prevent its recovering its former greatness. Darius Hystas-
pis not long afterward most severely punished it for a re-
volt, greatly depopulated the place, lowered the walls, and
demolished the gates. Xerxes destroyed the temples, and
with the rest the great temple of Belus ; Herod, iii. 159.
Arrian. Exp. Alexandri, lib. vii. The building of :Seleucia
on the Tigris exhausted Babylon by its neighbourhood, as
well as by the immediate loss of inhabitants taken away by
Seleucus to people his new city : Strabo, lib. xvi. A king
of the Parthians soon after carried away into slavery a great
number of the inhabitants, and burnt and destroyed the
most beautiful parts of the city : Valesii Excerpt. Diodori,
p. 377. Strabo (ibid.) says, that in his time great part of
it was a mere desert ; that the Persians had partly destroyed
it; and that time, and the neglect of the Macedonians, while
they were masters of it, had nearly completed its destruction.
Jerom (in loc.) says, that in his time it was quite in ruins,
and that the walls served only for the inclosure of a park or
24*
222
NOTES ON ISAIAir. CHAP. XI I Z
forest for the king's hunting-. Modern traveller?, who have
endeavoured to i\iu\ the remains of it, have given but a very
unsatisfactory accoiait of their success: what Benjaniin of
Tudela and Pictro della Yalle supposed to have been some
of its ruins, Tavernier tliinks are the remains of some late
Arabian buikHng. Upon the whole, Babylon is so utterly
annihilated, that even the pkice where this wonder of tiie
world stood, cannot now be determined with any certainty.
See also note on chap, xliii. 14.
We are astonished at the accounts which ancient histo-
rians of the best credit give, of the immense extent, height,
and thickness of the walls of Nineveh and Babylon : nor are
we less astonished wlien we are assured, by the concurrent
testimony of modern travellers, (hat no remains, not the
least traces, of these prodigious works are now to be found.
Our wonder will, I think, be moderated in both respects, if
we consider the fabric of these celebrated walls, and the na-
ture of the materials of which they consisted. Buildings in
the East have always been, and are to this day, made of earth
or clay, mixed or beat up with straw, to make the parts
cohere, and dried only in the sun. This is their method of
making bricks : see note on chap. ix. 9. The walls of the
city were built of the earth digged out on the spot, and dried
upon the place ; by which means both the ditch and the wall
w'ere at once formed ; the former furnishing materials for
the latter. That the walls of Babylon were of this kind is
w^ell known ; and Berosus expressly says, (apud Joseph.
Antiq. x. 11.), that Nebuchadnezzar added three new walls
both to the old and new city, partly of brick and bilumen,
and partly of brick alone. A wall of this sort n)ust have a
great thickness in proportion to its height, otherwise it can-
not stand. The thickness of the walls of Babylon is said to
have been one-fourth of their height, which seems to have
been no more than was absolutely necessary. Maundrell,
speaking of the garden walls of Damascus, — "They are,"
says he, "of a very singular structure. They are built of
great pieces of earth, made in the fashion of brick, and
hardened in the sun. In their dimensions they arc two
yards long each, and somewhat more than one broad, and
half a yard thick." And afterward, speaking of the walls of
the houses : — " From this dirty way of building they have
this amongst other inconveniences, that upon any violent
rain the whole city becomes, by the washing of the houses, as
it were a quagmire," p. l!<i'l. ; and see note on chap. xxx. 13.
CHAP. XIIT. NOTES ON ISAIAH, 2^23
When a wall of this sort comes to be out of repair, and is
neglected, it is easy to conceive the necessary consequences ;
namely, that in no long course of ages it must be totally de-
stro3^ed by the heavy rains, and at length washed away^ and
reduced to its oiiginal earth.
22. — in their palaces] rmj*D'?Nr, a plain mistake, I
presume, for rnuoiXD. It is so corrected in one MS.
OiKix ■sTt>:f]Toyr»t ctKij^ix, y/^rn Aaswv." Homer. Hymn, in Apol.77,
Of which the following passage of Milton may be taken for
a translation, though not so designed : —
" And in their palaces,
Where luxury late reign'd, sea-monsters whelp'd,
And stabled." P. L. xi. 750.
CHAPTER XIV.
1. And vnll yet choose Israel.] That is, will still regard
Israel as his chosen people ; however he may seem to desert
them, by giving them up to their enemies, and scattering
them among the nations. Judah is sometimes called Israel :
see Ezek. xiii. 16. Mai. i. 1. ii. il.; but the name of Jacob,
and of Israel, used apparently with design in this place,
each of which names includes the twelve tribes, and the other
circumstances mentioned in this and the next verse, whicli
did not in any complete sense accompany the return from the
captivity of Babylon ; seem to intimate, that this whole proph-
ecy extends its views beyond that event.
3. — in that day] Ninn uvz. The word xinn is added.
in two ]\tSS, and was in tlie copies from which the LrXX
and Vulg. translated : £v rv\ 'r.i^t^u. $x.en*\^ in die ilia, {'vi avaTrcivTsij.
MS Pachom. adding «). This is a matter of no great con-
sequence : however, it restores the text to the common form
almost constantly used on such occasions ; and is one among
many instances of a word lost out of the printed copies.
4. — this parable — ] JSlaslial. I take this to be the gen-
eral name for poetic style among the Hebrews, including
every sort of it, as ranging under one, or other, or all of the
characters, of sententious, figurative, and sublime ; which
are all contained in the original notion, or in the use and
application of the word mashal. Parables or proverbs^
such as those of Solomon, are always expressed in short
pointed sentences ; frequently figurative, being formed oa
224 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XIV.
•:ome conipanson ; generally forcible and aulhoritalive, bolh
n the matter and the form. And such in general is the style
'f the Hebrew poetry. The verb maslial signifies to rule,
0 exercise authority ; to make ecjuai, to compare one thing
vith aaollier ; lo iitler parables, or acute, weighty, and
.>owerful speeches, in (he form and manner of parables, though
lot properly such. Thus Balaam's fust |)rophecy, Numb,
^xiii. 7 — 10. is called his mas/ial ; though it has hardly any
liing figurative in it : but it is beautifully sententious, and,
Vom the very form and manner of it, has great spirit, force,
:ind energy. Thus Job's last speeches, in answer to the
hree friends, chap, xxvii — xxxi. are called 9/1 ashals ; from
10 one particular character which discriminates them from
he rest of the poem, but from the sublime, the figurative,
•he sententious, manner, which equally prevails through the
.vhole poem, and makes it one of the first and most eminent
examples extant of the truly great and beautiful in poetic
style.
The LXX in this place render the word l^y .'^^voi; a la-
mcntatioit. They plainly consider the speech here intro-
duced as a piece of poetry ; and of that species of poetry
which we call the elegiac, — either from the subject, it being
a poem on the fall and death of the king of Babylon ; or
from the form of the composition, which is of the longer
sort of Hebrew verse, in which the Lamentations of Je.xmiah,
called by the LXX .^^r.voi, are written.
11. — t/ii/ covering] Twenty-eight MSS (ten ancient)
and seven editions, with the LXX and Vulg. read p^-Di, in
the singular number.
12. O Lnci/er, son of the morning'] See note on xiii. 10.
13. i/ie mount of the divine presence — ] It appears
plainly from Exod. xxv. 22. and xxix. 42, 43. where God
appoints the place of meeting with Moses, and promises to
meet with him before the ark, to commune with him, and
to speak unto him ; and to meet the chiklren of Israel at the
door of the tabernacle; that the tabernacle, and afterward
the temple, and Mount Sion, (or Moriah, which is reckoned
a part of Sion), whereon it stood, was called the tabernacle,
and the mount, of convention, or of appointment ; not from
the people's assembling there to perforui the services of their
religion, (which is what our translation ex|)resses by calling
it llie tabernacle of the congregatioti), but because God ap-
pointed that for the place where he himself would meet with
CHAP. XIV. NOTES ON ISAIAH, 225
Moses, and commune with him, and would meet with the
people. Tlierefore, n;^io in, or n;'io bna, means the place ap-
pointed by God, where he would present himself; agreeably
to which I have rendered it, in this place, the mount of the
divine presence.
19. — like the tree abominated^ That is, as an object of
abomination and detestation ; such as the tree is on which a
malefactor has been hanged. " It is written," saith St. Paul,
Gal. iii. 13. " Cursed is every man that hangeth on a tree ;"
from Dent. xxi. 23. The Jews therefore held also as ac-
cursed and polluted the tree itself on which a n)alefactor had
been executed, or on which he had been hanged after having
been put to death by stoning. " Non suspendunt super
arbore, quae radicibus solo adheereat; sed super ligno era-
dicato, ut ne sit excisio molesta : nam lignum, super c[uo
fuit alicjuis suspensus, cum suspendioso sepelitur ; ne maneat
illi malum nomen, et dicant homines, Istud est lignum, in
quo suspensus est ille, o ^m<x,. Sic lapis, quo aliquis fuit la-
pidatus ; et gladius, quo fuit occisus is qui est occisus ; et
sudarium sive mantile, quo fuit aliquis strangulatus ; omnia
haec cum iis, qui perierunt, sepeliuntur :" MaimonideSj
apud Casaub. in Baron. Exercitat. xvi. An. 34. Num. 134.
"Cum itaque homo suspensus maxima? esset abominationi —
Judan quoque pree cajteris abominabantur lignum quo fuerat
suspensus, ita ut illud quoque terra tegerent, tanquara rem
abominabilem. Unde Interpres Chaldaeus hsec verba t.rans-
tulit n»,-DD tOHD, sicut virgultum absconditum, sive sepulturn -P
Kalinski, Vaticinia Observationibus illustrata, p. 342. Agree-
ably to which, Theodoret, Hist. Ecclesiast. i. 17, 18. in his
account of the finding of the cross by Helena, says, that the
three crosses were buried in the earth near the place of our
Lord's sepulchre.
Ibid. — Clothed loith the slain.] Thirty-five MSS (ten
ancient), and three editions, have the word fully written,
tyn^. It is not a noun, but the participle passive : thrown
out among the common slain, and covered with the dead
bodies. So ver. 11. the earth-worm is said to be his bed-cov-
ering.
20. Because thou hast destroyed thy country ; thou hast
slain thy people.] Xenophon gives an instance of this king's
wanton cruelty in killing the son of Gobrias, on no other pro-
vocation than that, in hunting, he struck a boar and a lion,
which the king had missed : Cyrop. iv. p. 309.
226 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XIV,
23. 1 will plunge it — ] I have here very nearly followed
the version of the LXX : the reasons for which see in the
ast note on De Poesi Hebr. Pra-iect. xxviii.
25. To crush the Assyrian — on my mountains'] The As-
syrians anil Babylonians are the same people : Herod, i. 199,
200. Babylon is reckoned the principal city in Assyria:
ibid. 178. Slrabo says the same things ; lib. xvi. sub init.
The circumstance of this judgment's being to be executed on:
God's mountains is of importance : it may mean the destruc-
tion of Senacherib's army near Jerusalem ; and have still a
further view : Coinpare Ezek. xxxix. 4.; and see Lowlh on
this place of Isaiah.
28. Uzziah had subdued the Phihstines, 2 Chron. xxvi.
0, 7.; hut taking advantage of the weak reign of Ahaz, they
invaded Judea,. and took and held in possession some cities
in the southern part of the kingdom. On the death of
Ahaz, Isaiah delivers this prophecy, threatening them with
the destruction that Hezekiah, his son, and great-grandson
of Uzziaii, should bring upon them : which he efl'ccted ; for
^'fi/? «iiio!e ihn Phihstines, even unto Gaza, and the borders
thereof;" 2 Kings xviii. 8. Uzziah therefore must be
meant by the rod that smote them, and by the serpent, from
whom should spring the tlying fiery serpent ; that is, Heze-
kiah, a nuicl] more terrible enemy than even Uzziah had
been.
30. — Jie will slay] The LXX read n'OT, in the third
person, «v£As/; and so Chald. The Vulgate remedies the
confusion of persons in the present text, by reading both the
verbs in ihe first person.
31. Prom, ihe north comcih a smoke'] That is, a cloud of
dust, raised by the march of Hezekiah's army against Phi-
listia ; which lay to the south-west from Jerusalem. A great
dust raised has, at a distance, the appearance of smoke :
" fumantes pulvere canipi :" Virg. iEn. xi. 908.
32. — to the ambassadors of the nations] The LXX read
Ci:, E^vwv, phnal ; and so the C^haldee, and one MS. The
ambassadors of the neighbouring nations, that send to con-
gratulate Hezekiah on his success ; which in his answer he
will ascril)e to the protection of God. See 2 Chron. xxxii.
23. Or, if'u, singular, the reading of the text, be prefer-
red, the ambassadors sent by the Philistines to demand
peace.
CHAP. XV.
NOTES OX ISAIAH. 227"
CHAPTER XV.
This and the following chapter, taken together, make one
entire prophecy, very improperly divided into two parts.
The time of the delivery, and consequently of the completion
of it, which was to be in three years from that time, is un-
certain ; the former not being marked in the prophecy it-
self, nor the latter recorded in history. But the most pro-
bable account is, that it was dehveied soon after the foregoing,
in the first year of Hezckiah ; and that it was accomplished
in his fourth year, when Shalmancser invaded the kingdom
of Israel. lie might probably march through Moab ; and,
to secure every thing behind him, possess himself of the whole
<x)untry, by taking their principal strong places, Ar and Kir-
hares.
Jeremiah has happily introduced much of this prophecy of
Isaiah into his own larger prophecy against the same people
in his xlviiith chapter ; denouncing God's judgments on Moab,
subsequent to the calamity here foretold, and to be executed by
Nebuchadnezzar : by which means several mistakes in the
present text of both Prophets may be rectified.
1. Because in the night—] Vb3. That both these cities
should be taken in the night, is a circumstance somewhat
unusual ; and not so material as to deserve to be so strongly
insisted upon. Vitringa, by his remark on this word, shews,
that he was dissatisfied with it in its plain and obvious mean-
ing ; and is forced to have recourse to a very hard metapho-
rical interpretation of it: "ISoctu, vel nocturno impetu ; vel
metaphorice, repente, subito, inexpeciata destructione : placet
posLerius." Calmet conjectures, and I think it probable, that
the true reading is h^2- There are many mistakes in the
Hebrew text arising from the very great similitude of the letters
3 and J, which in many MSS, and even in some printed edi-
tions, are hardly distinguishable. Admitting this reading, the
translation will be : —
*' Because Ar is utterly destroyed, Moab is undone !
Because Kir is utterly destroyed, Moab is undone !"
2. Beth-Dihon : — ] This is the name of one place ; and
the two words are to be joined together, without the i inter-
vefiing: so Chald. and Syr.
Ibid. — on every head] For VK^x-i, readti-Ni. So the paral-
lel place, Jer. xlviii. 37. and so three I\ISS(one ancient). An
ancient MS reads ]avr\ 'id ^7;*.
228 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XV.
Ibid. On every head there is baldness and every beard is
■shorn.] Herodotus, ii. 36. speaks of it as a general practice
among all men, except the Egyptians, to cut ofl" their hair as a
token of mourning. " Cut oli' thy hair and cast it away,"
says Jeremiah, vii. 29. " and take up a lamentation."
Kii^xe-Sect re y.o/^y,v, /3«A£«v r' xtto ^xk^v -ttx^hui. Hom. Od.iv.l97.
" The rites of woe
Are all, alas ! the living can bestow ;
O'er the congenial dust enjoin'd to shear
The graceful curl, and drop the tender tear." Pope.
Ibid. — sliorn — ] The printed editions, as well as the MSS,
•ure divided on the reading of this word : some have n;'nj,
others n;nj. The similitude of the letters n and i has like-
wise occasioned many mi.Hakes. In the present case, the
sense is pretty much the same with either leading. The text
of Jer. xlviii. 37. has the latter.
4. — the very loins — ] So the LXX, « oa-^v^.^ and Syr.
They cry out violently, with their utmost force.
5. The heart of Moab crieih within her.] For >Db, LXX,
read nb, or n'?; the Chald. nS. For rrnn:], Syr. reads nmin ;
and so likewise the 1/XX, rendering it sv xvr-/\^ Edit. Vat.
or fv txvrv\, Edit. Alex, and MS i. D. ii.
Ibid — a yonng heifer] Heb. a heifer tJiree years old,
in full strength ; as Horace uses equa trima^ for a young mare
just coming to her prime. Bochart observes from Aristotle,
Hist. Animal, lib. iv., that, in this kind of animals alone, the
voice of the female is deeper than tlint of the male ; there-
fore the lowing of the heifer, rather than of the bullock, is
chosen by the Prophet as the properer image to express the
mourning of Moab. But I must add, that the expression here,
is very short and obscure, and the opinions of interpreters are
various in rctrard to the meaning. Compare Jer. xlviii.
34. ^ *
II)id.— ///r'?/ shall ascend] For nS;", LXX and a IMS
read in the plural i'?;". And from this passage the parallel
j)lace in Jer. xlviii. 5. must be corrected ; where, for 03 n"?;",
which gives no good sense, read d n"?;".
7 — shall perish] n::N, or m^x. This word seems to
have been lost out of the text : it is supplied by the parallel
j)lace, Jer. xlviii. 36. Syr. expresses it by n^;', pratoriit ; and
Chald. by jni^n'j diripientiu".
Ibid, to the valley of u-illows.] That is, to Babylon.
CHAP. XV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 229
Hieron. and Jarclii in loc. both referring to Ptal. cxxxvii. 2.
So likewise Prideaux, Le Clerc, &c.
9. Upon the escaped of Moah and Ariel, and the rem-
nant of Admah] Tlie LXX for r.*'ix read "7«-in. Ar Moab
was called also Ariel or Areopolis ; Hieron. and Theodoret.
See Cellariiir^. "^riiey make noix also a proper name.
Michaelis thinks, that the Moabiies might be called the
remnant of Admah, as sprung fron) Lot and liis daughters
escaped from the destruction of that and the oiler cities ; or
metaphorically, as the Jdvvs are called the princes of Sodom
and people of Gomorrah, chap. i. 10. Bibliothek Orient.
Part. V. p. 195. The reading of this verse is very doubtful;
and tiie sense, in every way in which it can be read, very
obscure.
CHAPTER XVI.
1. Iv;ill send forth the son — ] Boih the reading and
meaning of this verse are still more doubtful ilian those
of the preceding. The LXX and Syr. read rhd/i<, in the
first person sing, future tense : the Vulg. and Talmud Baby-
lon, read rh'^, sing, imperative. The Syr. for -id reads
*12, which is confirmed by one MS, and perhaps by a se-
cond. The two first verses describe the distress of Moab on
the Assyrian invasion ; in which even the son of the prince
of the country is represented as forced to flee for his life
through the desert, that he may escape to Judea ; and the
young women are driven forth, like young hire's cast out of
the nest, and endeavouring to wade through the fords of the
river Arnon.
3. Impart counsel — ] The Vidg. renders the verbs in
the beginning of this verse in (he singular number. So the
Keri ; and so likewise many MSS have it, and some editions,
and Syr. The verbs tinoughout the verse are also in the
feminine gender ; agreeing with Sion, vv hich 1 suppose to be
understood.
4. — the outcasts of Moah — ] Setting the points aside, this
is by much the most obvious construction of the Hebrew,
as well as most agreeable to the context, and the design of
the Prophet. And it is confirmed by the LXX, it <pvycth<i
M««?, et Syr.
Ibid. — Uie oppressor — ] Perhaps the Israelite^ • v ho
in tlie time of Ahaz invaded Judah, defeated his army, slav-
25
230 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XVI.
ing- 120,000 incn ; and brouglit the kingdom to the brink of
destruction. Jndah, being now in a more prosperous condi-
tion, is represented as able to receive and to protect the fugi-
tive Moabites. And with those former times of distress, the
security and flourishing state of the kingdom under the gov-
ernment of Hezekiali is contrasted.
6. We /lave heard the pride of Bloah — ] For xj, read
nw; two MSS, (one ancient), and Jer. xlviii. 29. Zcpha-
niah, in his prophecy against Moab, the subject of which is
the same with that of Jeremiah in his xh.iiith chapter, (see
above Note on xv. I.), enlarges much on the pride of Moab,
and their insolent behaviour towards the Jews : —
"I have heard the reproach of Moab;
And the revilings of the sons of Ammon:
Who have reproached my people;
And have magnified themselves against their borders.
Therefore, as 1 live, saitli Jehovah God of Hosts, the God
of Israel,
Surely Moab shall be as Sodom,
And the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah:
A possession of nettles, and pits of salt,
And a desolation forever.
The residue of my people shall spoil them,
And the remnant of my nation shall dispossess them :
Tliis shall they have for their pride;
Because they have raised a reproach, and have magnified
themselves,
Against the people of Jehovah God of Hosts."
Zcph. ii. 8 — 10.
7. For li:e inen of Kirhares — ] A palpable mistake in
this place is happily corrected by the parallel text of Jer.
xlviii. 31. where, instead of ^m^ii/H) foundations or flagons,
we read 'ij,"jN, me;/. In the same place of Jeremiah, and in
ver. 35., and here in ver. 11., the name of the city is Kir-
hares, not Kirhareshetli.
Ibid. — are put to s/ia/ne^ Here the text of Jeremiah
leaves us much at a loss, in a place that seems to be greatly
corrupted. The LXX join the two last words of this verse
with the beginning of the following. Their renderinf^ is ;
X.XI UK e^'Toct.Ttr.Tyi tx zn^iu EnQui. For "jx they nmst have read
^wS* ; otherwi.se, how came they by tlie negative, which seeiHS
not to belong to this place? Neither is it easy to make sense
of the rest without a small alteration, by reading, instead of
i'»r?^u.7r,r,7-^ru., iiTou.T.r,TcTu.i. In a Word, the Arabic version taken
CHAP. XVI. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 231
from tlie IjXX, plainly aulhoiizes this reading of the LXX,
and without the negative ; and it is fully confirmed by MSS
Pachom. and I. D. II. which have both of them evT^xTTD^irM
Tirihcc EtcQojv, without the negative ; which makes an excellent
sense, and, I think, gives us the true reading of the Hebrew
text : pDtJ'n nioniy io^dj "jX. They fiequently render the verb
xhiihy itT^eTToi^M. And io^d: answers perfectly well to b'7r:s<,
the parallel word in the next line. The MSS vary in ex-
pressing in the word D\sdj, w^iich gives no tolerable sense in
this place : one reads D'a'DU, two others cno^, in another the 2
is u[ on a rasure of two letters ; and Vulg. instead of it reads
Qi))D:2,plagas suas.
8. Her branches extended themselves — ] For viVi a
MS has Viii::; which may perhaps be right: Compare Jer.
xlviii. 32. which has in this part of the sentence the synony-
mous \vord i;'jj.
The meaning of this verse is, that the wines of Sibmali and
Heshbon weregreatlv celebrated, and in high repute with all
the great men and princes of that and the neighbouring coun-
tries; w^ho indulged themselves even to intemperance in the
use of them. So that their vines were so much in request, as
not only to be propagated all over the country of Moab, to the
sea of Sodom ; but to have cions of them sent even beyond
the sea into ibreign countries.
)':!bp,, knocked down,den)olished ; that is, overpowered, in-
toxicated. I'he drunkards of Epbraim are called by the
Prophet, chap, xxviii. 1. j" roi'7n. See Schultens on Prov.
xxiii. 25. Gratius, speaking of the Mareolic wine, says of it,
" Pharios quae fregit noxiareges." Cyneg. ver. 312.^
9. as icith the weeplno- — ] For 'jdd a MS reads 'Dr.
In Jer. xlviii. 32. it is 'D^o. LXX read ''222, which I fol-
low.
Ibid. And upon thy vintage the destroyer hath falhii\
Vaj ITH p'i"p ^;'i. In these few words there are two great
mistakes ; which the text of Jer. xlviii. 32. rectifies :
for "jTi-p, it has lTi'3 ; and for m'n, mu-: both which
corrections the Chaldee in this place confirms. As to the
first,
" Hesebon and Eleale, and
The flowery dale of Sibmah clad with vines,"
were never celebrated for their harvests ; it was the vintas'e
that suflfered by the irruption of the enemy : and so read LXX
232 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XVI.
and Syr. -n'n is the noisy acclamation of the treadors of
the grapes : and see what sense this makes in the literal len-
deriuo; of the VnliT;atc — super jiiessem tuam " vox calcantium
irruit." The reading in Jer. xlvii. 32. is certainly right,
^3J '\'\V!,vastator irruit. The shout of the treadersdoes not come
in till the next verse ; in which the text of Isaiah in its turn
mends that of Jeremiah, xlviii. 33. v» here, instead of the first
m'n, ilie s/touf, we ought undoubtedly to read, as here, y\-rt,
the t reader.
10. A}/, end is jmi to (he s/ioiidiig-] The LXX read
n2kin, passive, and in the third person, — rightly ; for God is
not the speaker in this place. The rendering of LXX is
■s!r£7rxvTcii ycco asXivyinct i which last word, necessary to the ren-
dering of the Hebrew, and to the sense, is supplied by MSS
Pachom. and i. D. ii., having been lost out of the other
co])ies.
12. u-hcn. Moah shall sec — ] For nt-nj a MS reads MiO,
and so Syr. and Chald. "Perhaps n^ij *j is only a va-
rious reading of n^bJ ':]; " Seckfi;]!. A very probable con-
jecture.
1-1. — and uiUiovt s/rcnglli] An ancient MS, witli LXX,
reads x'?!.
CHAPTER XVH.
This prophecy by its title should relate only to Damas-
cus; but it full as much concerns, and more largely treats of,
the kingdom of Samaria and th,e Israelites, confederate with
Damascus and the Syrians against (he kingdom of .Tudah. It
was delivered probably soon after t lie prophecies of the viiih
and viiilh clinpters, in the beginning of the reign of Ahaz;
and was fulfdled by Tiglath Pileser's taking Damascus, and
carrying the people ca[)tives to Kir, (2 Kings xvi. 9.); and
overrunning great f)art of the kingdom of Israel, and carrying
a great number of I lie Israelites also captives to Assyria ; and
still more fully in regard to Isiael.by the conquest of the king-
dom, and the captivity of the peo[)le, clfected a few years after
by Shalmaneser.
1. — a rninniis lien])] For ';'d the LXX read •>'% Vulg.
♦;*3- 1 follow the former.
2. The cities are deserted for cver'\ "What has Aroer or
the river Arnon to do with Damascus? and if there be
CHAP. XVII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 233
another Aroer on tlie northen border of the tribe of Gad,
(as Reland seems to think there might be), this is not much
more to the purjiose. Besides, the cities of Aroer, if Aroer
itself is a city, makes no good sense. The LXX, for i;n;*,
Aroer, read n>' n)l, ^'5 rov ccimx, for ever, or for a long dura-
tion. The Chald. takes the word for a verb from nv? trans-
lating it mn, devastabuntiir. The Sj'r, read T;'nr. So
that the reading is very doubtful. I follow the LXX, as
making the plainest sense.
3. — the pride of Syria — ] For "is^iy Houbigant reads
T\)i>SD, the pride, answering, as the sentence seems evidently
to require, to m:3D, tlte glory of Israel. The conjecture ii
so very probable, that I venture to follow it.
5. — ^5 luhen one gathereth — ] That is, the king of As-
syria shall sweep away the whole body of the people, as the
reaper strippeth off the whole crop of corn ; and the rem-
nant shall be no more, in proporiion, than the scattered cars
left to the gleaner. The valley of Rephaim near Jerusalem
was celebrated for its plentiful harvests ; it is here used poet-
ically for any fruitful conntr3^
8. — the altars dedicated to the iDork of his hands] The
construction of the words, and the meaning of the sentence,
in this place, are not obvious : all the ancient versions, and
most of the modern, have mistaken it. The word n'^>'D
stands in regimine with mn^'r^, not in apposition with it :
it means the altars of the v/ork of their hands ; that is, of
the idols; not which are the work of their liands. Thus
Kimchi has explained it, and Le Clerc has followed him.
9. — the Hivites and the Amorites — ] v:DNm U/^)n'r,-
No one has ever yet been able to make any tolerable sense
of these words. The translation of the LXX has happily
preserved what seems to be the true reading of the text, as
it stood in the copies of their time ; though the words are
now transposed, either in the text, or in their version : oi
Ai^Pfciiot Tcoii 01 Evsttai. It is remarkable, that m.any commen-
tators, who never thought of admitting the reading of the
LXX, yet understand the passage as referiing to that very
event which their version expresses : so that it is plain, that
nothing can be more suitable to the context. My Father
saw the necessity of admitting this variation, at a time when
it was not usual to make so free with tlie Hebrew text. See
Lowth on tlie place.
10. — shoots from a foreign soil] The pleasant plants,
25*
234 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XVII.
and shoots from a foieign soil, are allegorical expressions for
strange and idolatrous worship; vicious and abominable prac-
tices connected with it ; reliance on Jiunian aid, and on al-
liances entered into with the neiohl)ouring nations, especially
Egypt: to all which the Israelites v.erj greatly addicted;
and in their expectations from which they should be grievous-
ly dinappoinled.
12 — 14. TFo to the inullitude — ] The three last verses
of this chapter seem to have no relation to the foregoing
prophecy, to which they are joined. It is a beautiful piece,
standing singly and Ijy itself; for neither has it any con-
nexion with what follows: whether it stands in its right
place, or not, I cannot say. It is a noble description of the
formidable invasion, and of the sudden overthrow, of Sena-
chcrib ; which Le intimated in the strongest terms, and the
most expressive images, exactly suitable to the event.
12, 13. Like the 7'oar ill g nf niiglity ipaters — ] Five words,
three at the end of the l2ih verse, and two at the begitming
of the 13th, are omitted in five MSS ; that is, in efiect, the
repetiiion, contained in the first line of verce 13, in this
translation, is not made. After having observed, that it is
equally easy to account for the omisj^ion of these words by a
transcriber, if they are genuine; or their insertion, if they are
not genuine : occasioned by his carryi/ig his eye backwards
to th.e word D'ox% or forwards to pxu'; I shall leave it to the
reader's judgment to determine, whether they are genuine,
or not.
14. — and lie is no moi-e'] For ij;\<, ten INISS (three an-
cient) and two editions, and LXX, Syr. Chald. Yulg. have
urxi. This particle, authenticated by so many good vouch-
ers, restores the sentence to the true poetical form, implying
a repetition of some part of the parallel line preceding,
thus :
" At tlie season of evening, behold terror!
Before the morning, and [behold] he is no more! "
See Preliin. Dissert, p. xii. note.
CHAPTER XVIII.
This is one of the most obscure prophecies in the whole
book of Isaiah. The subjec: of ii, tlif end and design of it,
the people to whom it is addressed, the history to which it
belongs, the person who sends the messengers, and the na-
GHAP. XVIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 235
tion to whom the messengers are sent ; are all obscure and
doubtful.
1. The winged cymbal'] CDJD b:fby. I adopt this as the
most probable of the many interpretations that have been given
of these words. It is Bochart's : see Phaleg iv. 2. The Egyp-
tian Sistrum is expressed by a periphrasis ; the Hebrews had
no name for it in their language, not having in use the
instrument itself. The cymbal they had ; an instrument in
its use and sound not much unhke to the sistrum ; and to dis-
tinguish from it the sistrum, they called it the cymbal with
wings. The cymbal was a round hollow piece of metal,
which being struck against another, gave a ringing sound :
the sistrum was around instrument, consisting of a broad rim
of metal, through which from side to side ran several loose
laminae, or small rods, of metal, which being shaken, gave a
like sound : These projecting on each side, had somewhat of
the appearance of wings ; or might be very properly expressed
by the same word which the Hebrews used for wings, or for
the extremity, or a part of any thing projecting. The sistrum
is given in a medal of Adrian, as the proper attribute of Egypt.
See Addison on Medals, Series iii. No. 4. where the figure of
it may be seen.
In opposition to other interpretalions of these words v.'hich
have prevailed, it may be briefly observed, that Vi'?i' is
never used to signify shadoiv, nor njD applied to the sails of
ships.
If therefore the words are rightly interpreted the winged
cymbal, meaning the sistrum, Egypt must be the country to
which the prophecy is addressed : And upon (his hypothesis
the version and explanation must proceed. I further suppose,
that the prophecy was delivered before Senacherib's return
from his Egyptian expedition, which took up three years ;
and that it was designed to give to the Jews, and perhaps
likewise to the Egyptians, an intimation of God's counsels in
regard to the destruction of their great and powerful ene-
my- _
Ibid. Which borders on the rivers of CusJi^ What are
the rivers of Cush, whether the eastern branches of the lower
INile, the boundary of Egypt towards Arabia, or the parts of
the upper Nile towards Ethiopia, it is not easy to determine.
The word i:i;,'a signifies either on this side or on the further
side : I have made use of the same kind of ambiguous expres-
sion in the translation.
236 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XVIII.
2. — in vesseh<i of papyrus] This circumstance agrees per-
fectly well with Egy[)t. It is well known, that the Egyp-
tians commonly used on the Nile a light sort of ships, or boats,
made of the reed papyrus. " Ex ipso quidem papyro navigia
texunt :" Plin. xiii. 11.
" Censentur bibula Memphitis cymba papyro." Luc. iv, 136.
Ibid. Go, ye sv)ift messengers — ] To this natron before
mentioned, who, by the Nile, and by their numerous canals,
have the means of spreading the report, in the most expedi-
tious manner, through the whole country ; go, yc swift mes-
sengers, and carry this notice of God's designs in regard to
them. By the swift messengers are meant, not any particu-
lar persons specially appointed to this office, but any the usu-
al conveyers of news whatsoever, travellers, merchants, and
the like, the instruments and agents of common fame :
these are ordered to publish this declaration made by the
Prophet ihroughout Egypt; and to all the world ; and to ex-
cite iheir attention to the jiromised visible interposition of God.
Ibid. — stretched out in Icngtli — ] Egypt, that is, the
fruiifid part of it, exclusive of the deserts on each side, is one
long vale, through the njiddle of which runs the Nile, bound-
ed on each side to the east and west by a chain of mountains ;
seven hundred and fifty miles in length ; in breadth,
from one to two or three days' journey : even at the widest
part of the Delta, from Pelusium to Alexandria, not above two
hundred and fifty miles broad. Egmont and lieyman, and
Pococke's Travels.
Ibid. — smoothed — ] Either relating to the practice of the
Egyptian priests, who made their bodies smooth by shav-
ing off their hair ; see Herod, ii. 37.; or rather to the coun-
try's being made smooth, perfectly plain and level, by the
overflowing of the Nile.
Ibid. — meted out by line — ] It is generally referred to
the frecjuent necessity of having recourse to mensuration in
Egypt, in order to determine the boundaries after the inun-
dations of the Nile ; to which even the origin of the science of
geometry is by some ascril)ed. Stra!>o, lib. xvii. sub init.
ll)id. — trodden doini — ] Supposed to allude to a |i<Miiliar
method of tillage in use among the I'gyptians. Both Her-
odotus (lib. ii.) and Diodorus (lib. i.) say, that when the
Nile had retired within its banks, and the ground became
somewhat diy, they sowed their land, and tlun sent in their
CHAP. XVIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 237
cattle (their hogs, says the fornjei) to tread in the seed}
and without any further care expected the harvest.
Ibid. — the livers have 7iotnishcd] The word ixn is
generally taken to be on irregular form for nrr, have Sj/oiled,
as an ancient MS has it in this place ; and so most of the
versions, bolh ancient and modern, understand it. On
which Schultens, Giam. Heb. p. 491. has the following
remark: " Ne minimam quidem speciem veri habet ixn,
Esai. xvii. 2. elatum pro ire, diripitiiit. Heec essei ano-
malia, cui nihil simile in toto hngua^ nmbitu. In talibus nil
finire, vei futeri ex mera agi conjectnra, mtiiis jtisiiusque.
Radicem xn oliin extare poiuisse, quis neget / Si cogua-
tum quid sectandum erat, ad nn, coiitem.sit, potius decur-
renduni fuisset : ut ixn pro in sit enuntiatmn, vel iv:?.
Digna phrasis, fiii.mina coiitenumnt terram, i. e. innn-
dant''^ " xn, Arab, extulitse sv])crbius, item snbjecit sibi:
imde praet. pi. ,ixn aubjccerwit sibi, i. e. innnlarimt : "
Simon is Lexic. Heb.
A learned friend has suggested tome anoliier explanation
of the word, kp, Syr. and a,'::, Chald. signilies iiber, rnam-
wcf ; agreeably to which the verb might signify ifo nourish.
This woidd perfectly well suit with the Nile : whereas nothing
can be more discordant than the idea of spoiling and plini-
dering; for to the inundation of the Nile Egypt owed every
thing, — the fertility of the soil, and the very soil itself. Be-
sides, the overflowing of the Nile came on by gentle degrees,
covering without laying waste the country. "Mira eeque
iiatura flimiinis, quod cum ceeteri otnnes abluant terras
et eviscerent, Nilus tanto caeteris major adeo nihil exedit,
nee abradit, ut contra adjiciat vires ; minimumque in eo sit,
quod solum teinperet. lllato enim limo arenas saturat ac
jungit: debetque illi j^gyptus non tantum fertilitatem terra-
rum, sed ipsas : " Seneca, Nat. Queest. iv. 2, I take the
liberty, therefore, which Schultens seems to think allowable
in this place, of hazarding a conjectural interpretation.
3. When the standard is lifted up — ] I lake God to be
the agent in this verse ; and that by the standard and the
trumpet are meant the meteors, the thunder, the lightning,
the storm, eari:hquake, and tempest, by which Senacherib's
army shall be destroyed, or by which at least the destruc-
tion of it shall be accompanied ; as it is described in chap.
>xxix. 6. and xxx. 30, 31. and x. 16, 17. See also Psal.
Ixxvi. and the title of it according to LXX, Vulg. and
238
NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XVIII.
jEtliiop. They are called by a bold metaphor, (he standard
lifted up, and the trumpet soumled. The latter is used by
Hoiner, I think, with great force, in his introduction to the
battle of the gods ; though 1 find it has disgusted some of
the minor critics :
Attpi JV crciXTTr/^iv f^eycti a^ctvtx;. II. Xxi. 388.
" Heaven in loud thunders bids the trumpet sound,
And wide beneath them groans the rending ground." Pope.
4. For t/ats linUi Jehovah said itnto me — ] The sub-
ject of (he remaining part of the chapter is, that God would
comfort and support his own people, though threatened with
immediate destruction by the Assyrians; that Senacherib's
great designs and mighty efforts against them should be
frustrated, and that his vast evpectations should be rendered
abortive, when he thonghi them mature, and just ready to be
crowned with success ; that the chief part of his army should
be made a prey for the beasts of the field, and the" fowls of
the air, (for this is the meaning of the allegory continued
through the 5th and Olh verses) ; and that Egypt, being de-
livered from his oppression, and avenged by the liand of God
of the wrongs which she had suffered, should return thanks
for the wonderful deliverance, both of herself and of the
Jews, from this most powerful adversary.
Ibid. Like the clear heat — ] The same images are em-
ployed by an Arabian poet : —
" Solis more fervens, dum frigus ; quumque ardet
Sirius, tum vero frigus ipse et umbra."
Which is illustrated in the note by a like passage from
another Arabian poet : —
" Calor est hyeme, refrigerium eestate."
Excerpta ex Hamasa ; published by Schultens, at the end of
Erpenius's Arabic Grammar, p. 425.
Ibid. — after rain — ] "iix hie significat pluviam ; Juxta
illud, sparget nuhcs pliiviam siiam^ Job xxxvii. 1 1." Kimchi.
In which place of Job the Chaldee paraphrast docs indeed
explain i-iin by n'"iDo; and so again ver. 21.; and chap,
xxxvi. 30. Tills meaning of the word seems to make the
best sense in this place ; it is to be wished, that it were bet-
ter supported.
Ibid. — in the day of harvest.] For nr\:2, in the heat,
CHAP. XVIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 239
five MSS, (three ancient), LXX, Syr. and Yu]g, read Di»3,
in the day. The mistake seems to have risen from cnD in
the hne above.
5. — the blossojn — ] Heb. her blossom ; n:fj : that is,
the blossom of the vine. j£ij, understood, which is of the
common gender. See Gen. x\. 10. Note, that, by the de-
fective punctuation of this word, many •interi)reters, and our
translators among the rest, have been led into a grievous
mistake, (for how can the swelling grape become a blossom ?)
taking the word nvi for the predicate ; whereas it is the sub-
ject of the proposition, or the nominative case to the verb.
7. — a gift — ] The Egyptians v,'ere in alliance with the
kingdom of Judah, and were fellow-sufferers with the Jews
under the invasion of their common enemy Senacherib ; and
so were very nearly interested in the great and miraculous de-
liverance of that kingdom by^ the destruction of the Assyrian
army. Upon which wonderful event, it is said, 2 Chron.
xxxii. 23. that "many brought gifts unto Jehovah to Jeru-
salem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah ; so that he
was magnified of all nations from thenceforth." It is not to
be doubted, that among these the Egyptians distinguished
themselves in their acknowledgments on this occasion.
Ibid. — -from a 'people — ] The LXX and Vulg. read
0>>o ; which is confirmed by the repetition of it in the next
line. The difference is of importance ; for, if this be the true
reading, the prediction of the admission of Egypt into the
true church of God is not so explicit as it might otherwise
seem to be. Hov.ever, that event is clearly foretold at the
end of the next chapter.
CHAPTER XIX.
Not many years after the destruction of Senacherib's
army before Jerusalem, by which the Egyptians were freed
from the yoke with which' they were threatened by so
powerful an enemy, who had carried on a successhd war of
three years' continuance against them ; the affairs of Egypt
were again thrown into confusion by intestine broils among
themselves ; which ended in a perfect anarchy, that lasted
some few years. This was followed by an aristocracy, or
rather tyranny, of twelve princes, who di\"ided the country
between them ; and at last by the sole dominion of Psammi-
240 NOTES OS ISATAH. CHAP. X1S.
tichus!, wliiih lie lield for fifty-four years. Not long nftcr
that, followed the in\a?ion and conquest of E^ypt hy iS'ebu-
chadnezzar ; and then by the Persians under Cainbyses, the
son of Cyrus. Tlie yoke of the Persians was so grievous,
that the conquest of the Persians hy Alexander may well
be considered as a deliveiance to Ejrypt; especially as he and
bis successors "greatly favoured the people, and improved the
comUry. To all these events the Prophet seems to have had
a view in this chapter; and in particular, from ver. 18. the
prophecy of the propagation of the true religion in Egypt
seems to point to the llouii^hing state of Judaism in lliat
country, in conse(|uence of the great favour sliewn to the
Jews by the Ptolemies. Alexander himself settled a great
many Jews in his new city Alexandria, granting them privi-
leges equal to those of the Macedonians. The first Ptolemy,
called Soler, carried great numbers of them thither, and gave
them such encouragement, that still more of them were
collected there from dillereiit parts; so that Philo reckons,
that in Ids time there were a million of Jews in that coun-
try. These worshipped the God of their fathers; and their
example and inlluence nuist have had a great efiect in spread-
ing the knowledge and worship of the true God through the
uhole country. See Bishop Newton on the Prophecies,
Dissert, xii.
4. --r.riicl lords] Nebucliadnezzar in the first place, and
afterwards the whole succession of Persian kings, who in gen-
eral were hard masters, and grievously oppressed the coun-
try. Note, that for ntV"', a ]\IS reads L».:p, agreeable to which
is the rendering of LXX, Syr. and Vulg.
6. — s/tall become puiricl] in'Jii^n. This sense of the
vord, which Simonis gives in his Lexicon from the meaning
of it in the Arabic, suits llie place nuich belter than any-
other interprelaiion hitherto given. And that the word in
Hebrew had some such signification is probable fiom 2 Chron.
xxix. 18. where the Vulgate renders it by polluit, and the
Targum by profanavit and aboininabile fecit, which the
context in that place seems plaiidy to reciuire. The form of
the verb here is very inegidar ; and the rabbins and gram-
marians seem to give no probable account of it.
8. — And the fisliers — ] There was great plenty offish
in Egypt : sec Numb. xi. 5. " The Nile," says Diodorus,
lib. 1. "abounds with incredible numbers of all sorts offish."
And much more the lakes ; Egmont, Pocockc, A:c.
CHAP. XIX. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 241
10. — Iter stores — ] rrnna', aTroeijKxi, Aquila.
Ibifi. all that make a gain of pools for fish] This ob-
scure line is rendered by different interpreters in very differ-
ent manners. Kimchi explains ':3:h, as if it were the snme
with 'Dj;', from Job xxx. 25. In which lie is followed by
some of the rabbins, and supported by LiXX : and id^,
\vhich I translate gain, and which some take for 7iets, or in-
closiires, the LXX render by ^y^av, strong drink, or beer,
which it is well known was much used in Eg-ypt : and so
likewise the Syriac, retaining the Hebrew word inD^;. I
submit these very different interpretations to the reader's
judgment. The version of the LXX is as follows : — xai
Wflt*T£? 01 TTotavTei; rav ^v$ov Xv7r?i6r,yoyTci,tj km tos; ipv^sii Trovia-an : "And
all they that make barley-wine shall mourn, and be grieved
in soul."
11. — have counselled a brutish counsel] The sentence,
as it now stands in the Hebrew, is imperfect ; it wants the
verb. Archbishop Seeker conjectures, that the words »xi''*
n>'n3 should be transposed ; which would in some degree
remove the difficulty. But it is to be observed, that the
translator of the Vulgate seems to have found in his copy
the verb ii>'» added after n;?-i3: " Sapientes consiiiarii Phar-
aonis dederunt consilium insipiens." l^his is probabh' the
true reading ; it is perfectly agreeable to the Hebrew idiom,
makes the construction of the sentence clear, and renders the
transposition of the above words unnecessarj''.
12. — let them come — ] Here too a word seems to have
been left out of the text. After yoDn, two MSS (one ancient)
add 1X3', let them co7ne. Which, if we consider the form and
the construction of the sentence, has very much the apjiear-
ance of being geimine ; otherwise the connective conjunction
at the beginning of the next member, is not only superflu-
ous but embarrassing. See also the version of LXX, in whicli
the same deficiency is manifest.
Ibid. — and let them declare — ] " For y^-r, let tliem know,
perhaps we ought to read ^nv, let them make knoion:'^
Secker. The LXX and Vuig. favour this reading :
«s-36T»fl-^y, indicent.
13. Thci/ have caused — ] The text has u'nm, and they
have caused to err. Fifty MSS, thirteen editions, Vulg. and
Chald. omit the v
^ Ibid. — pillars — ] rj3 to be pointed as plural without doubt.
So Grotius, and so Ghald.
26
242 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XIX.
14 — hi the midst of them — ] "D3'^p3, LXX, quod forte
rectius :"' Secker. So likewise Chald.
16. — tlie Eg-i/ptians shall be — ] rn*, plural, MS Bodl.
LXX. and Chald. This is not proposed as an emendation,
for either form is proper.
17. And the land of Jndah — ] The threatening hand of
God will be held out and shaken over Egypt, from the side of
Judea ; through which the Assyrians will march to invade it.
Five MSS and two editions have njn^.
18. — the City of the *S'//7?] Dinn t;'. This passage is
attended with much diliiculty and obscurity. First, in re-
gard to the true reading. It is well known, that Onias ap-
plied it to his own views, either to procure from the king of
Egypt permission to build his temple in the Hieropolitan
Nome, or to gain credit and authority to it when built ; from
the notion which he industriously propagated, that Isaiah
had in this place prophesied of the building of such a temple.^
He pretended, that the very place were it should be built
was expressly named by the Prophet Dinn r;', the city of
the sun. This possibly may have been the original reading.
The present text has Dinn yy, the city of destruction : which
some suppose to have been introduced into the text by
the .Tews of Palestine afterwards ; to express their de-
testation of the place, being much offended with this schis-
matical temple in Egypt. Some think the latter to have been
the true reading, and that the Prophet himself gave
this turn to the name out of contempt, and to intimate the
demolition of this Hieropolitan temple ; which in eflect was
destroyed by Vespasian's orders after that of .Jerusalem.
" Videtur Propheta consulto scripsisse Din pro Din, ut alibi
scribiiur px n'3 pro '?« n'3, rm2 ty'x pro ^^,'2 tyx, &c.
Vide Lowth in loc. :" Secker. But on supi)ositioii
that Dinn i';'> is the true reading, others understand it
differently. The word Din in Arabic signifies a lion : and
Conrad Ikenius has written a dissertation (Dissert. Philol.
Theol. xvi.) to prove that the place here mentioned is not
Heliopolis, as it is commonly supposed to be, but Lcon(o-
polis in the Heliopolitan Nome ; as it is indeed called in the
letter, whether real or pretended, of Onias to Ptolemy,
which Josephus has inserted in his Jewish Antiquities, lib.
xiii. cap. 3. And I find, that several persons of great learn-
ing and judgment think that Ikenius has proved the point be-
yond contradiction. See Christian. Muller. Satura. Observ.
CHAP. XIX. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 243
Philolog. Michaelis Bibliothek Oriental, Part V. p. 171.
But after all, I believe, that neither Onias, nor Heliopolis,
nor Leontopolis, has any thing to do with this subject. The
application of this place of Isaiah to Onias's purpose seems
to have been a niere invention ; and, in consequence of it,
there may perhaps have been some unfair management to
accommodate the text to that purpose; which has been carried
even further than the Hebrew text ; for the Greek version
has here been either translated from a corrupted text, or wal-
fully mistranslated or corrupted, to serve the same cause. The
place is there called ^exii A(rihK^ihe city of righteousness ; a
name apparently contrived by Onias's party to give credit to
their temple, which was to rival that of Jerusalem. Upon
the whole, the true reading of the Hebrew text in this
place is very uncertain ; nine MSS and seven editions have
Din, so likewise Sym. Vulg. Arab. LXX, Compl. On the
other hand, Aquila, Theodot. and Syr. read oin ; the Chaldee
paraphrase takes in both readings.
The reading of the text being so uncertain, no one can
pretend to determine what the city was that is here men-
tioned byname ; much less to determine, what the four other
cities were which the Prophet does not name. I take the
whole passage, from the 18th verse to the end of the chap-
ter, to contain a general intimation of the future pro-
pagation of the knowledge of the true God in Egypt and Sy-
ria, under the successors of Alexander ; and, in consequence
of this propagation, of the early reception of the gospel in
the same countries, when it should be published to the world.
See further on this subject, Prideaux's Connect, an. 149.;
Dr. Owen's Inquiry into the Present State of the LXX Ver-
sion, p. 41., and Bryant's Observations on Ancient History, p.
124.
CHAPTER XX.
Tharthan beseiged Ashdod or Azotus, which probably
belonged at this time to Hezekiah's dominions: see 2 Kings
xviii. 8. The people expected to be relieved by the Cush-
ites of Arabia, and by the Egyptians. Isaiah wasordeied to
go uncov ed, that is, without his upper garment, the
rough ma I le commonly worn by the prophets, (se Zech.
xiii. 4.), p bably three days, to shew that within three years
244 NOTES ox ISAIAH. CHAP. XX.
the town should be taken, after the defeat of the Cushites
and Egyptians by the king of Assyria, which event should
make their case desperate, and induce them to surrender.
Azotus was a strong place : it afterwards held out twenty-nine
years against Psaraniitichus, king of Egypt, Ilercd, ii. 157.
Tliarihan was one ofSenacncrib's generals, 2 Kings xviii. 17.,
and Tirluikah king of the Cushites was in alliance with tiie
king of Egypt against Senacheiib. These circumstances
make it probable, that by Sargon is ir.eant Senacherib. It
might be one of liie seven nan^.es by wliich Jerom, on this
place, says he was called. He is called Sacherdonus and Sa-
ciierdan in the book of Tobit. The taking of Azotus must
have happened before Senacherib's attempt on Jerusalem ;
when he boasted of his late conquests, chap, xxxvii. 25. And
the warning of the Prophet had a principal respect to the
Jews also, who were too much inclined to depend upct) the as-
sistance of Egypt. As to the rest, history and chronology af-
fording us no light, it may be impossible to clear either thi.s
or any other' hypothesis, (which takes Sargon to beShahnnn-
eser, or Asarhaddon, &.C.), from all difficulties.
It is not probable that the Prophet u'alked uncovered and
barefoot for three years : his appearing in that manner was a
sign, that v.ithin three years the Egyptians and Cushites
should be in the sanie condition, being conquered and n^ade
captives by the king of Assyria. The time was denoted, as
well as the event; but his appearing in that manner for three
whole years, could give no premoniiion of the time at all.
It is probable, therefore, that the Prophet was ordered to walk
so for three days, to denote the accomplishment of the event
in three years ; a day for a year, according to the prophetical
rule: Numb. xiv. 34. Ezek. iv. 0. The words c»rj* i:/^r,
tlirce duys^ may possibly have been ost out of the text, at the
end of the second verse, after t]rr, barefoot ; or after the same
word in the third verse: where, in the Alexandrine and Va-
tican copies of LXX, and in MSS Pachom. and i. D. ii. the
words T^(« er;) are twice expressed. Perhaps, instead oi\ih\o
D'D', the Greek translator might read w:iw ^^^, by his own
mistake, or by (hat of his copy, after •■'in' in the tliird verse,
for which stands the first r^ictert, in the Alexandrine and Va-
tican LXX. and in the two MiSS above-mentioned.
CHAP. XXI. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 245
CHAPTER XXI.
The ten first, verses of this chapter contain a prediction of
ihe taking of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. It is
a passage singular in its kind, for its brevity and force ; for
the varie'y and rapidit}'' of the movements ; and for the
strength and energy of colouring with wliich the action and
event is painted. It opens with the Prophet's seeing at a
distance the dreadful storm that is gathering, and ready to
burst upon Babylon : The event is intimated m general
terras ; and God's orders are issued to the Persians and
Medes to set forth upon the expedition which he has given
them in charge. Upon this the Prophet enters into the midst
of the action ; and, in the person of Babylon, expresses in the
strongest terms the astonishment and horror that seizes her
on the sudden surprise of the city, at the very season dedica-
ted to pleasure and festivity, ver. 3, 4. : then in his own per-
son describes the situation of things there ; the security of the
Babylonians, and in the rnidst of their feasting the sudden
alarm of war, ver. 5. The event is then declared in a very
singular manner. God orders the Prophet to set a watchman
to look out, and to report what he sees : he sees two com-
panies marching onward, representing by their appearance
the two nations that were to execute God's orders, who de-
clare, that Babylon is fallen, ver. 6 — 9.
But what is this to the Prnphet, and to the Jews, the ob-
ject of h'li ministiy ? The application, the end, and design of
the prophecy is admirably given in a short expressive a<ldress
to the Jews, partly in the person of God, partly in that of the
Prophet : " O my threshing !" — " O my people, whom for your
punishment I shall make subject to the Babylonians,
to try and to prove you, and to separate the chatt" from
the corn, the bad from the good among you ; hear this for
3'our consolation : Your pimishment, your slavery and op-
pression, will have an end in the destruction of your oppres-
sors."
1. — the desert of the sea] This- plainly means Babylon,
which is the subject of the prophecy. The country about
Babylon, and especially below it towards the sea, was a great
flat morass, often overflowed by the Euphrates and Tigris.
It became habitable by being drained by the many canals
that were made in it.
26*
24^ NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXI
Herodotus, i. 184. says, that " Semiramis confined the Eu-
phrates within its channel, by raising great dams against it ;
for before it ovcrllowcd the whole country like a sea."
And Abydenus, (([noting Megasthenes, apud Euseb. Pra>p.
Evang. ix. 41.), speaking of the building of Babylon by
Nebuchadonosor, " It is reported, that all this part was
covered with water, and was called the sea ; and that Belus
drew off the waters, conveying them into proper receptacles,
and surroinided Babylon with a wall." When the Euphrates
was turned out of its channel by Cyrus, it was suffered still to
drown the neighbouring country. The Persian government,
which did not favour the place, taking no care to remedy
this inconvenience, it became in time a great barren morassy
desert ; which event the title of the prophecy may perhaps
intimate. Such it was originally ; such it became after the
taking of the city by Cyrus ; and such it continues to this
day.
Ibid. Like the southern te7npests — ] The most vehement
storms,, to which Judea was subject, came from the great
desert country to the south of it. '• Out of the south
Cometh the whirlwind;" Job xxxvii. 9. "And there came
a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners
of the house ;" Ibid. i. 19. For the situation of Idum a, the
country, as I suppose, of Job, (see Lam. iv. 21. compared
with Job i. I.), was the same in this respect with that of
Judea.
^' And Jehovah shall appear over them,
And his arrow shall go forth as the lightning :
And the Lord Jehovah shall sound the trumpet;
And shall march in the whirlwinds of the south." Zech. ix. 14.
2. The plunderer is jdniu/ercd, and the destroyer is de-
stroyed.] nmty mvii^m ijo njnn. The M^S vary in
expressing or omitting the i in these four words. Ten MSS
arc without the i in the second word, and eight MSS are
without thei in the fourth word ; which justifies Symn)achus,
who has rendered them passivel}^ : o aSirm ccSereirai, xxi o
rciXyjTTu^t^eov rctXsiiTru^ii. He read nnty, 11J3. Cocccius (Lexi-
icon in voce) observes, that the Chaldee very often renders
the verb nj3 by in, spoUavit; and in this place, and in
xxxiii. L by the equivalent wordcjx; and in chap. xxiv. 16.
both by DJN and m; and S}'r. in this place renders it by D^U,
oppressit.
Ibid. — her vexatious — ] lleb. her sighing; that i-, ihe
CHAP. XXI. NOTES OX ISAIAH. 247
sighing caused by her. So Kirachi on the place: '• 'ij^iit
illos, qui gemebant ob timorem ejus ; quia suffixa nom iiii
ref'ert]iiiLir ad agenteni et ad patieiitem.'' " Oinnes q i _e-
mebant a facie regis Balndcuis, reqiiiescere feci eos ;'' Oi;;il.l.
And so likewise Ephraiin Syr. in loc. edit. Asseniani: '^ Ge-
niitum ejus : dolorem scilicet et lachrymas, quas Cbald^i
reliqui^ per orbein gentibus ciere pergunt."
5. The table is prepared — ] In Heb. the verbs are in
the intlnitive mode ab.sokuc ; as in Ezek. i. 14. " And the
animals ran and returned, nvij-i i<Vj-«, Hke the appearance
of hghtning : " just as the Latins say currere et reverti, for
currebant el revertebantur. See chap, xxxii. 2. and the uoLe
tliere.
7. And he saw a chariot v/ith two rl iers ; a rider on an
ass, a rider on a camel.] Tiiis [)ascage is extremely obscure,
from the ambiguity of the term ::j->, Avhich is used three
times; and which signifies a chariot, or any other vehicle, or
the rider in it ; or a riiler on a horse, or any other animal;
or a company of chariots or riders. The Prophet may
possibly mean a cavalry in two parts, with two sorts of riders ;
riders on asses or mules, and riders on camels: or led on
by two riders, one on an ass, and one on a camel. However,
so far it is pretty clear, that Darius and Cyrus, the Medes
and the Persians, are intended to be distinguished by the
two riders, or the two sorts of ceitile. It .appears from Hero-
dotus, i. SO. that the baggage of Cyrus's army was carried
on camels. In his engagement with Crcesus, he took off the
baggage from the camels, and mounted his horsemen upon
them : the enemy's horses, offended with the smell of the
camels, turned back and fled.
8. he that looked out on the vmtch — ] The present read-
ing nn.^, a lion, is so unintelligil)lc, and the mistake so ob-
vious, that I make no doubt tliat the true reading is njon,
as the Syriac translator manifestly found it in his copy, who
lenders it by Viryn, speculator.
9. — a man, one of the two riders] So the Syriac un-
derstands it ; and Ephraem Syr.
18. O my threshing — ] " O thou, the object upon which
I shall exercise the severity of my discipline : that shalt lie
under my afflicting hand, like corn s|)read upon the floor to
be threshed out and winnowed, to separate the chaff from
the wheat !" The image of threshing is frequently used by
the Hebrew poets with great elegance and force, to express
248 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXI.
the pnnishmen' of the wicked and the tiial of the good, or
the niter dispersini) and destiuclion of (iod's enemies. Of
the different ways of threshing in use among the Hebrews,
and ihe manner of performing them, see note oncliap. xxviii.
27.
Our translators have taken h<- Hberty of u ing the word
tJireshing in a passive sense, to express th ■ object or matter
that is threshed : in which 1 have followed them, not being
able to express it more properly, wiiliout departing too mucli
from the form and letter of the original. Son of my iloor,
Heb, It is an idiom of the Hebrew language t > ca'.l the
effect, the object, the adjimct, any thing that belong- in al-
most any way to another, the son of it. " O my threshing — ^"
The Prophet abruptly breaks off the speech of God, and,
instead of continuing it in the form in which he ha begun,
and in the |7erson of God, " This I declare unto you by my
Prophet ; " he changes the form of address, and adds, in his
own person, " This I declare unto you from God."
11, 12. The oracle concerning Dttma/i.] "Pro nnn
Codex R. Meiri habet; dhn et sic LXX. Vid. Kiinchi ad
h. 1. ; " Biblia Michaelis, Hala:- 1720, not. ad 1.
This prophecy, from tlie uncertainty of the occasion on
wiiich it was uttered, and from the brevity of the expression,
is extremely obscure. The Edomites as well as Jews were
subdued by the Babylonians. They inquire of the Prophet,
how long iheir subjection is to last? he intimates, th t the
Jews should be delivered from their ctipiivity ; not so the
Edomites. Thus far the interpretation seems to carry with
it some degree of probability. What the meaning of the last
line may be, I cannot pretend to divine. In this difliculty
the Hebrew MSS give no assistance. Tiie MSS of LXX,
and the fragments of the other Greek versions, give some
variations, but no light. This being the case, I thought it
best to give an exact literal translation of the whole two verses ;
which may serve to enable the English reader to judge in
some measure of the foundation of the various interprelalione
that have been given of tht-m.
13. The oracle concerning Arabia.] This title is of doubt-
ful authority. In the first place, because it is not in many
of the MSS of the LXX ; it is in MSS Pachom. and i. D.
II. only, as far as 1 can find with certainty : secondly, from
the singularity of the phraseology ; for Nti'D i- generally pre-
fixed to its object without a proposition, as S23 xiJ'o; and
CHAP. XXI. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 249
never but in this place with the preposition 3. Besides, as
the word 3"i^'3 occurs at tlie very beginning of the prophecy
itself, the first word but one, it is much to be suspected that
some one, taking it for a proper name and the object of the
prophecy, might note it as such by the words ni;';: ke^o
written in the margin, from whence they might easily get in-
to the text. The LXX did not take it lor a proper name,
but render it i-Tri^xi; and so Chald. whom I follow: for,
otherwise, the forest in Arabia is so indeterminate and vague
a description, that in effect it means noihiiig at all. This
observation might have been of good use in clearing up the
foregoing very obscure prophecy, if any light had aris^-en from
joining the two together by removing tlie separating title ; but
1 see no connexion between them.
This pr()j)hecy was to have been fulfilled within a year of
the time of its delivery, see ver. 16.; and it was probably de-
livered about the same tiuje with the rest in this part of the
book,.that is, soon before or after the 14th of Hezekiah, the
year of Senacherib's invasion. In his first march into Ju-
dea, or in his return from the Egyptian expedition, he might
perhaps overrun these several clans of Arabians : theii distress
on some such occasion is the subject of this prophecy.
14. — the southern country^ emi^xv, LXX ; Austri, Vulg.
They read jr:'n, which seems to be right; for probably the
inhabitants of Tema might be involved in the same calamity
with their brethren and neighbours of Kedar, and not in a
condition to give them assistance, and to relieve them, in
their flight before the enemy, with bread and water. To
bring forth bread and waier is an instance ofconmion hu-
manity in such cases of distress ; especially in these desert
countries, in which the common necessaries of life, more
particularly water, are not easily to be met with or procured.
Moses forbids the Ainmonite and Moabite to be admitted
into the congregation or the Lord to the tenth generation ;
one reason which he gives for this reprobation is, their omis-
sion of the common offices of humanity towards the Israel-
ites ; " because tliey met them not with bread and water in
the way, when they came forth out of Egypt ;" Deut. xxiii. 4.
17. — the mi<^hty bowmen^ Sagiituriorum fortium, Vulg.
transposing the two w'ords, and reading r',i:p '^oj ; which seems
to be right.
Ibid. For Jehov^H 'ififh s])okcn it.] The prophetic Car-
minaofMarcius, foretelhng the baule of Canna,\ Liv. xxv. 12.
250 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXI.
conclude witli the same kind of solemn form : — "Nam raihi
ka Jupiter fatus est." Observe, tliat the word dxj , (to pro-
nounce, to declare), is the solemn word appropriated to the
delivering of prophecies: — "Behold, I am again^^t the pro-
phets, saith (dxj) Jehovah, who use their tongues, nNJ»i
DXJ, and solemnly pronounce, He hath pronounced it;" Jer.
xxiii. 31.
CHAPTER XXH.
This prophecy, ending with the 14th verse of this chap-
ter, is entitled, " The Oracle concerning the Valley of
Vision," by which is meant Jerusalem, because, says Sal. b.
Melech, it was the place of propliecy. Jerusalem, accord-
ing to Josephus, was built upon two opposi c hills, Sion and
Acra, separated by a valley in the midst : he speaks of ano-
ther broad valley between Acra and Moriah, Bell. Jud. v.
13. vi. 6. It was the seat of divine revelation, the. place
where chiefly prophetic vision was given, and where God
manifested himself visibly in the holy place. The prophecy
foretells the invasion of Jerusalem by the Assyrians under
Senacherib ; or by the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar,
Vitringa is of opinion, that the Prophet has both in view ;
that of the Chaldeans in tin- first part, ver. 1 — 5. (which he
thinks relates to the flight of Zedekiah, 2 Kings xxv. 4, 5.);
and that of the Assyrians in the latter part ; which agrees
with the circumstances of that tinie, and particularly describes
the preparatioris made by Hezekiah for the defence of the
cily, ver. 8 — 11. Compare 2 Chron. xxxii. 2 — 5.
^ 1. — are gone up to the liouse-tops.^ The houses in the
East were in ancient times, as they are still generally, built
in one and the same uniform manner. The roof or top of
the house is always flat, covered with broad stones, or a
strong plaster of terrace, and guarded on every side with a
low parapet wall : see Deut. xxii. 8. The terrace is fre-
quented as much as any part of the house. On this, as the
season favours, they walk, they eat, they sleep, they transact
business, (1 Sam. ix. 25. see also the LXX in that place),
they perform their devotions, (Acts x. 9.) The house is
built with a court within, into which chiefly the windows
open ; those that open to the street are so obstructed with
lattice- work, that no one either without or within can see
through them. "Whenever therefore any thing is to be seen
€HAP. XXII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 251
or heard in the streets, any public spectacle, any alarm of a
public nature, every one immediately goes up to the house-
top to satisfy his curiosity. In the same manner, when any
one had occasion to make any thing public, the readiest and
most effectual way of doing it was to proclaim it from the
house-tops to the people in the streets : " What ye hear in the
€ar, that publish ye on the house-top,'' saith our Saviour,
Matt. X. 27. The people's running all to the tops of their
houses gives a lively image of a sudden general alarm. Sir
John Chardin's MS note on this place is as follows :*— ''Dans
les festes pour voir passer quelque chose, et dans les maladies
pour les annoncer aux voisins en allumant des lumieres, le
peuple monte sur les terrasses."
3. — -ire gone off together.^ There seems to be some-
what of an inconsistency in the sense, according to the pre-
sent reading. If the leaders were bound, iidn, how could they
flee away? for their being bound, according to the obvious
construction and course of the sentence, is a circumstance
prior to their flight. I therefore follow Houbigant, who reads
non, remoti sunt, they are gone off. i^j, transmigraverunt,
Chald. which seems to confirm this emendation.
6. — the /Syrian — ] It is not easy to say what mx 3D1,
a chariot of men, can mean. It seen)s, by the form of the
sentence, which consists of three members, the first and the
third mentioning a particular people, that the second should
do so likewise ; thus □'ij'isi Dix 3D"i3, " with chariots the
Syrian, and with horsemen : " the simiUtude of the letters -\
and -1 is so great, and the mistakes arising from it so frequent,
that I readily adopt the correction of Houbigant, din instead
of D~c;, which seems to me extremely probable. The con-
junction 1 prefixed to D'tyii3 seems necessary, in whatever
way the sentence is taken ; and it is confirmed by five MSS
(one ancient) and three editions. Kir was a city belonging
to the Medes. The Medes were subject to the Assyrians in
Hezekiah's time : see 2 Kings xvi. 9. and xvii. 6. ; and so
perhops might Elam (the Persians) likewise be, or auxiliaries
to them.
8. — the arsenal — ] Built by Solomon within the city,
and called the House of the forest of Lebanon ; probably from
the great quantity of cedar from Lebanon which was em-
ployed in the building : see 1 Kings vii. 2, 3.
9. And ye shall collect the waters — ] There were two
pools in or near Jerusalem, supplied by springs : the upper
252 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP, XXII.
pool, or the old pool, supplied by the spring called Gihon, 2
Chron. xxxii. 3(J. towards the higher pari of the city, near
Sion or the city of David ; and the lower pool, probably sup-
plied by Siloam, towards the lower part. When Hczekiah
was threatened with a siege by Senacherib, he stopped up all
the waters of the fountains without the city, and brought
them into the city by a conduit, or subterraneous passage cut
through the rock ; those of the old pool, to the place where
he made a double wall, so that the pool was between the two
walls. This he did in order to distress the enemy, and to
supply the city during the siege. This was so great a work,
that not only the historians have made particular mention
of it, 2 Kings xx. 20. 2 Chron. xxxii. 2, 3. 5. 30. ; but the
son of Sirach also has celebrated it in his encomium on Hez-
ekiah : " Hezekiah fortified his city, and brought in water
into the midst thereof: he digged the hard rock with iron, and
made wells for water : " Eccliis xlviii. 17.
11. — to him tluit hath disposed this] That'is, to God,
th.e author and disposer of this Aisitation, the invasion willi
which he now threatens you. The very same expressions are
applied to God, and upon the same occasion, chap, xxxvii. 26.
" Hast thou not heard, of old, that I have disposed it;
And, of ancient times, that I have formed it.'"'
14. the voice of Jehovah — ] The Vulg. has vox Do-
mini ; as if in his copy he had read mrr b^p^. and, in truth,
without the word ^ip, it is not easy to make out the sense of
the passage; as it appears from the strange versions which
the rest of the ancients, (except Chald.), and n)any of the
moderns, have given of it ; as if the matter were revealed in,
or to, the ears of Jehovah ; ev roii «-; Kv^/y, liXX. Vitringa
translates it, " revelatus est in auribus meis Jkmovah ; " and
refers to 1 Sam. ii. 27. iii, 21. : but the construction in those
places is diii'erent, and there is no speech of God added ;
which liere seems to want something n)ore tlian the verb
n'?j3 to introduce it. Compare chap. v. 9. where the text is
still more imperfect.
15. Go unto IShchna — ] The following pro|ihecy con-
cerning Shebna seems to have very little relation to th ; fore-
going; except that it might have been delivered t.bo it the
same time, and Shebna might be a principal person among
those whose luxury and profanencss is seveiely reprehended
by the Prophet in the conclut^ion of that prophecy, vcr.
11—14.
CHAP. XXII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 253
Shebna the scribe, mentioned in the history of Hezekiah,
chap, xxxvi. seems to have been a diiierent person from tliis
Shebna, the treasurer or steward of the household, to whom
the prophecy relates. The EHakim here mentioned was
probably the person, who, at the time of Senacherib's inva-
sion, Wtis actually treasurer, the son of Hilkiah. If so, this
prophecy was delivered, as the preceding, which makes the
former part of the chapter, plainly was, some time before the
invasion of Senacherib. As to the rest, history affords us no
information.
Ibid. — and say unto him] Here are two words lost out of
the text ; which are supplied by two ]MSS, (one ancient),
which read vha n"i;oxi ; by Lt^'K, nxt etyrov avr&i j and in the
same manner by all the ancient versions. It is to be observed,
that this passage is merely historical, and does not admit of
that sort of ellipsis by which, in the poetical parts, a person
is frequently introduced speaking, without the usual notice
that what follows was delivered by hiirs.
16. thy sepulchre on hiffh — in, the rodi\ It has been
observed before on chap. xiv. that persons of high rank in
Judea, and in most parts of the East, were generally buried
in large sepulchral vaults hewn out in the rock for the use
of themselves and their families. The vanity of Sliebna is
set forth by his being so studious and careful to have his
sepulclne on high ; in a lofty vault, and that probably in a
high situation, that it might be more conspicuous. Heze-
kiah w^as buried n^^'o"?, £v «vsc^a3-£(, LXX ; in the chiefest,
says our translation ; rather, in the highest part of the se-
pulchres of the sons of David, to do him the more honour ;
2 Chron. xxxii. 33. There are some monuments still re-
maining in Persia of great antiquity, called Naksi Rustam,
which give one a clear idea of Shebna's pompous design for
his sepulchre. They consist of several sepulchres, each of
them hewn in a high rock near the top ; the front of the
rock to the valley below is adorned ^^'ith carved work in re-
hevo, being the outside of the sepulchre. Some of these se-
pulchres are about thirty feet in the perpendicular from the
valley ; which is itself raised perhaps above half as much by
the accumulation of the earth since they were made. See
the description of them in Chardin, Pietro della Valle, The-
venot, and Kempfer. Diodorus Siculus, lib. xvii. mentions
these ancient monuments, and calls them the sepulchres of
the kings of Persia.
27
254 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXlI.
17. — cover thee] That is, thy face. This was the con-
dition of mourners in general, and particularly of condemned
persons : see Esther vi. 12. vii. 8.
19. / will drive thee] pinx, in the first person, Syr.
Vulg.
21. — to the inhabitants — ] oiyv'?, in the plural number,
four MSS, (two ancient), LXX, Syr. Vulg-.
22. — the key vpon his shoulder.] As the robe and the
baldric, mentioned in the preceding verse, were the ensigns
of power and authority, so likewise was the key the mark of
oflice, either sacred or civil. The priestess of Juno is said
to be the key-bearer of the goddess, x.>^et^iix<^i a^cn: iEschyl.
Suppl. 299. A female high in office under a great queen
has the same title : —
Auctor Phoronidis ap. Clem. Alex. p. 418. Edit. Potter,
This mark of office was likewise among the Greeks, as here
in Isaiah, borne on the shoulder : the priestess of Ceres
x.'j.ridiA.xhui £^£ X.XMOCI.: Callim. Ceres, ver. 45. To compre-
hend how the key could be borne on the shoulder, it will be
necessary to say somewhat of the form of it : but without
entering into a long disquisition, and a great deal of obscure
learning, concerning the locks and keys of the ancients, it
w'ill be sufficient to observe, that one sort of keys, and that
probably the most ancient, was of considerable magnitude,
and as to the shape very much bent and crooked. Aratus,
to give his reader an idea of the form of the constellation
Cassiopeia, compares it to a key. It must be owned, that
the passage is very obscure ; but the learned Huctius has
bestowed a great deal of pains in explaining it, Aniinadvers.
in Manilii, lib. i. 355. and I think has succeeded very well
in it. Homer, Odyss. xxi. 6. describes the key of Ulysses's
storehouse as iVKxi^m.^, of a large curvature ; whicli Eusta-
thius explains by saying it was ^^eTravouh-.i, in shape like a
reap-hook. Huelius says, the constellation Cassiopeia an-
swers to this description ; the stars to the north making the
curve part, that is, the principal part of the key ; the
southern stars, the handle. The curve part was introduced
into the key-hole; and, being properly directed by the
handle, took hold of the bolts within, and moved them from
their places. We may easily collect from this account, that
such a key would lie very well upon the shoulder ; that it
must be of some considerable size and weight, and could
CHAP. XXII. NOTKS ON ISAIAH. 255
hardly be cominodiously carried otherwise. Ul}'sses's key
was of brass, and the handle of ivory : but this was a royal
key ; the more common ones were probably of wood. In
Egypt they have no other than wooden locks and keys to
(his day ; even the gates of Cairo have no better : Baumgar-
ten, Peregr. i. 18. Thevenot, Part II. ch. 10.
In allusion to the image of the key as the ensign of
power, the unlimited extent of that power is expressed,
with great clearness as well as force, by the sole and exclu-
sive authority to open and shut. Our Saviour therefore
has upon a similar occasion made use of a like manner of
expression, Matt. xvi. 19.; and in Rev. iii. 7. has apphed to
himself the very words of the Prophet.
23. — a nail — ] In ancient times, and in the eastern
countries, as the way of life, so the houses were much more
simple then ours at present. They had not that quantity
and variety of furniture, nor those accommodations of all
sorts, with which we abound. It was convenient and even
necessary for them, and it made an essential part in the
building of a house, to furnish the inside of the several
apartments with sets of spikes, nails, or large pegs, upon
which to dispose of, and to hang up, the several moveables and
utensils in common use, and proper to the apartment. These
spikes they worked into the walls at the first erection of
them — the walls being of such materials, that they could not
bear their being driven in afterwards ; and they were con-
trived so as to strengthen the walls, by binding the parts
together, as well as to serve for convenience. iSir John
Chardin's account of this matter is this : " They do not
drive with a hanmier the nails that are put into ihe eastern
walls: the walls are too hard, being of brick; or if they are
of clay, too mouldering : but they fix them in the brick-
work as they are building. They are large nails, with
square heads hke dice, well made ; the ends being bent so as
to make them cramp-irons. They commonly place them
at the windows and doors, in order to hang upon them,
when they like, veils and curtains :" Harmer, Observat. i.
p. 191. And we may add, that they were put in other
places too, in order to hang up other things of various
kinds ; as it appears from this place of isaiah, and from
Ezekiel xv. 3. who speaks of a pin, or nail, "to hang any
vessel thereon." The word used here for a nail of this sort,
is the same by which they express that instrument, the stake.
256 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXII.
or large pin of iron, with which they fastened down to the
ground the cords of their tents. We see, therefore, that
these nails were of necessary and connnon use, and of no
small importance, in all their apartments ; conspicuous, and
much exposed to observation : and if they seem to us mean
and insignificant, it is because we are not acquainted with
the thing itself, and have no name to express it by, but
what conveys to us a low and contemptible idea. " Grace
hath been shewed from the Lord our God, (saith Ezra ix. 8.),
to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his
holy place :'' that is, as the margin of our Bible explains it,
" a constant and sure abode."
" He that doth lodge near her [Wisdom's] house,
Shall also fasten a pin in her walls." Eccl'us xiv. 24.
The dignity and propriety of the metaphor appears from the
Prophet Zechariah's use of it :
" From him shall be the corner-stone; from him the nail,
From him the battle-bow,
From him every ruler together." Zeeh. x. 4.
And Mohammed, using the same word, calls Pharaoh the
lord or master of the Nails; that is, well attended by nobles
and officers capable of administering his affairs ; Koran
Sur. xxxviii. 11. and Ixxxix. 9. So some understand this
passage of the Koran : Mr. Sale seems to prefer another in-
terpretation.
Taylor, in his Concordance, thinks 'Mr:' means the pillar or
])03t that stands in the middle, and supports the tent, in
which such pegs are fixed to hang their arms, &c. upon ;
referring to Shaw's Travels, p. 287. But nn^ is never used,
as far as it appears to me, in that sense. It was indeed
necessary that the pillar of the tent should have such pegs
on it for that purpose ; but the hanging of such things in
this manner upon this pillar, does not prove that nn' was the
pillar itself.
23. — a glorious scat — ] That is, his father's house, and
all his own family, shall be gloriously seated, shall flourish
in honor and prosperity ; and shall depend upon him, and be
supported by liim.
24. — all the glory — ] One considerable part of the mag-
nificence of the eastern princes, consisted in the great (luanli-
ty of gold and silver vessels which they had for various uses.
" Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels
CHAP. XXII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 257
of the House of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold :
none were of silver ; it was nothing accounted of in Solo-
mon's days : " 1 Kings x. 21. " The vessels in the House
of the forest of Lebanon (the armory of Jerusalem so
called) were two hundred targets, and three hundred shields,
of beaten gold ; " Ibid. ver. 16,17. These were ranged in
order upon the walls of the armoury, (see Cant. iv. 4.) upon
pins worked into the walls on purpose, as above mentioned.
Eliakitn is considered as a principal slake of this sort, im-
moveably fostened in the wall, for the support of all vessels
destined for common or sacred uses : that is, as the principal
support of the whole civil and ecclesiastical polity. And the
consequence of his continued power will be the promotion and
flourishing condition of his family and dependents, from the
highest to the lowest.
Ibid. — meaner vessels] D'blJJ seems to mean earthen ves-
sels of common use, brittle, and of little value, (see Lam. iv.
2. Jer. xlviii. 12.), in opposition to niJJN, goblets of gold and
silver used in the sacrifices ; Exod. xxiv. 6.
25. The nail fastened — ] This nuist be understood of
Shebna, as a repetition and confirmation of the sentence above
denounced against him.
CHAPTER XXIII.
1. Haiti, O ye ships of Tarshish — ] This prophecy de-
nounceth the destruction of "Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar. It
opens with an address to the Tyrian negociators and sailos
at Tarshish, (Tartessus in Spain), a place which, in the
course of their trade, they greatly frequented. Tlje news
of the destruction of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar is said to be
brought to them from Chittim, the islands and coasts of the
Mediterranean : " For the Tyrians, (says Jerom on ver. 6.),
when they saw they had no other means of escaping, fled in
their ships, and took refuge in Carthage, and the islands of
the Ionian and Egean Sea : " from whence the news would
spread and reach Tarshish. So also Jarchi on the place.
This seems to be the most probable interpretation of this
verse.
2. Be silent] Silence is a mark of grief and consterna-
tion : see chap, xlvii. 5. Jeremiah has finely expressed this
image : —
27*
258 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXIII.
" The elders of the daughter of Sion sit on the ground, they
are silent:
They have cast up dust on their heads, they have girded
themselves with sackcloth.
The virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the
ground." Lam. ii. 10.
3. And the seed of the Nile — ] The Nile is called here
Shichor, as it is Jer. ii. IS. and 1 Chron. xiii. 5. It had this
name from the blackness of its waters charged with the mud
which it brings down from Ethiopia, when it overflows, " Et
viridem iEgyptum nigra fnecundat arena:" as it was called
by the Greeks Melas, and by the Latins Melo, for the same
reason. See Servius on the above line of Virgil, Georg. iv.
291. It was called Siris by the Ediiopians ; by some sup-
posed to be tlie same with Shichor. Egypt, by its extraordi-
nary fertility, caused by the overflowing of the Nile, supplied
the neighbouring nations with corn ; by which branch of
trade the Tyrians gained great wealth.
4. Be ashamed, O iSido?r — ] Tyre is called, vcr. 12. the
daughter of Sidon. " The Sidonians, (says Justin, xviii. 3.),
when their city was taken by the king of Ascalon, betook
themslevcs to their ships, and landed, and built Tyre." Si-
don, as the mother city, is supposed to be deeply aflTected
with the calamity of her daughter.
Ibid. — nor educated — ] "'nnoni, so an ancient MS, pre-
fixing the 1, which refers to the negative preceding, and is
equivalent to n'?!. See Deut. xxxiii. 0. Prov. xxx. 3.
7. — wliose antiquity is of Ike earliest date.^ Justin, in
the passage above ([noted, had dated the building of Tyre at
a certain number of years before the taking of Troy ; but the
number is lost in the present copies. Tyre, though not so
old as Sidon, yet was of very liigh antiquit}- : it was a strong
city, even in the time of Joshua : it is called ii* Ta'^d t;»,
" the city of the fortress of Sor," Josh. xix. 29. Interpre-
ters raise- difficulties in regard to this passage, and will not
allow it to have been so ancient : with what good reason, I
do not see ; for it is called by the same name, " the fortress
of Sor," in the history of David, 2 Sam. xxiv. 7. ; and the
circumstances of the history determine the place to be the
very same.
10. O daughter of Tarshish — ] Tyre is called the daugh-
ter of Tarshish ; perhaps 'because, Tyre being ruined, Tar-
shish was become the superior city, and might be considered
as the metropolis of the Tyrian people ; or rather, because of
CHAP. XXIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 259^
the close connexion and perpetual intercourse between them y
according to tluit latitude of signification in which the He-
brews use the words son and daughter^ to express any sort
of conjunction and dependence whatever, njo, a girdle,
which collects, binds, and keeps together the loose raiment,
when applied to a river, may mean a mound, mole, or arti-
ficial dam, which contains the waters, and prevents them from
spreading abroad. A city, taken by feige, and destroyed,
whose walls are demolished, whose policy is dissolved, whose
wealth is dissipated, whose people is scattered over the wide
country, is compared to a river whose banks are broken down,
and its waters, let loose and overflowing all the neghbouring
plains, are wasted and lost. This may possibly be the mean-
ing of this very obscure verse ; of which I can find no other
interpretation that is at ail satisfactory.
16. Behold the land of the Chaldeans — ] This verse is
extremely obscure : the obscurity arises from the ambiguity
of the agents which belong to the verbs, and of the objects
expressed by the pronouns ; from the change of number in
the verbs, and of gender in the pronouns. The MSS
gives us no assistance ; and the ancient versions very little.
The Chaldee and Vulg. read r\r.yj in the plural number.
I have followed the interpretation, which among man\-
different ones seemed to me most probable, that of Perizonius
and Vitringa.
The Chaldeans, Chasdim, are supposed to have had their
origin, and to have taken their name, from Chesed the son
of Nachor, the brother of Abraham. They were known by
that name in the time of Moses ; who calls Ur in Mesopo-
tamia, from whence Abraham came, to distinguish it from
other places of the same name, Urof the Chaldeans. And Je-
remiah calls them an ancient nation. This is not inconsis-
tent with what Isaiah here says of them : " This people was
not ;" that is, they were of no account, (see Deut. xxxii. 21.):
they were not reckoned among the great and potent nations
of the world, till of later times : they were a rude, uncivilized,
barbarous people, without laws, without settled haljitations ;
wandering in a wide desert country, w-H, and addicted to
rapine, li.ke the wild Arabians. Such they are represented
to have been in the time of Job, (i. 16.), and such they con-
tinued to be till Assur, some powerful king of Assyria, ga-
thered them together, and settled them in Babylon, and the
neighbouring country. This probably was Ninus, whom I
260 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXIII.
suppose lo have lived in the time of the Jud^'es. In this?,
with many eminent chronologers, 1 follow the authority of
Herodotus ; who says, that the Assyrian monarchy lasted
but five hundred and twenty years. Ninus got possession of
Babylon from the Cuthean Arabians, the successors of Nim-
rod in that empire, collected the Chaldeans, and settled a
colony of them there, to secure the possession of the city,
which he and his successors greatly enlarged and ornamented.
They had perhaps been useful to him in his wars, and might
be likely to be further useful in keeping under the old inhabi-
tants of that city, and of the country belonging to it ; ac-
cording to the |)olicy of the Assyrian kings, who generally
brought new people into the conijnered countries. See Isa.
xxxvi. 17. 2 Kings xvii. 6. 24. The testimony of Dicai-
archus, a Greek historian contem|)orary with Alexander,
(apud Steph. de Urbibus, in v. Xc«AJi«/o?), in regard to the
fact is remarkable, though he is mistaken in the name of the
king he speaks of: He says, " That a certain king of Assy-
ria, the fourteenth in succession from Ninus," (as he might
be, if JXinus is placed, as in the common chronology, eight
hundred years higher than we have above set him), " named
as it is said ChaldtEus, having gathered together and united
all the people called Chaldeans, built the famous city Ba-
bylon, u[)on the Euphrates."
14. lio7vl, O ye s/t'ps — ] The Prophet Ezekiel halh
enlarged upon this part of the same subject with great force
and elegance : —
" Thus saith the Lord Jehovah concerning Tyre :
At the sound of thy fall, at the cry of the wounded,
At the great slaughter in the midst of thee, shall not tlie is-
lands tremble ?
And shall not all the princes of the sea descend from their
thrones,
And lay aside their robes, and strip off their embroidered gar-
ments ?
They shall clothe themselves with trembling, they shall sit on
the ground ;
They shall tremble every moment, they shall be astonished at
thee.
And they shall utter a lamentation over thee, and shall say un-
to thee :
How art thou lost, thou that wast inhabited from the seas !
The renowned city, that was strong in the sea, she and her
inhabitants!
CHAP. XXIir. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 261
That struck with terror all her neighbours!
]Vow shall the coasts tremble in the day of thy full,
And the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy de-
parture." Ezek. xxvi. 15 — 18.
15. According to the days of one king — ] That is, of
one kingdom. See Dan. vii. 17. viii. 20. Nebuchadnezzar
began his conquests in the first year of his reign ; from thence
to the taking of Babylon by Cyrus are seventy years ; at
which time the- nations conquered by Nebuchadnezzar were
to be restored to liberty. These seventy years limit the du-
ration of the Babylonish monarchy. Tyre was taken by him,
towards the middle of tliat period ; so did not serve the king
of Babylon during the whole period, but only for tlie remain-
ing part of it. This seems to be the meaning of Isaiah :
The days allotted to the one king, or kingdom, are seventy
years ; Tyre, with the rest of the conquered nations, shall
continue in a state of subjection and desolation to the end of
that period — not from the beginning and tlirough the whole
of the period ; for, by being .one of the latest conquests, the
duration of that state of subjection in regard to her was not
much more than half of it. " AH these nations," saith Jer-
emiah, (xxv. 11.), " shall serve the king of Babylon seventy
years." Some of them were conquered sooner, some later ;
but the end of this period was the common term for the de-
liverance of them all.
There is another way of computing the seventy years,
from the year in which Tyre was actually taken to the nine-
teenth of Darius Flystaspis ; whom the Phenicians, or Tyri-
ans, assisted against the lonians, and probably on that ac-
count might then be restored to their former liberties and priv-
ileges. But I think the former the more probable interpre-
tation.
Ibid, sing as 'the harlot singeth — ] " Fidicinam esse
meretricum est," says Donatus in Terent. Eunuch, iii. 2. 4.
" Nee nieretrix tibicina, cujus
Ad strcpitum salias." Hor. I. Epist. xiv. 25.
Sir John Chardin, in his MS note on this place, says : " C'est
que les vieilles prostituees — ne font que chanter quand les
jeunes dancet, et les animer par I'instrument et par la voix."
17, 18. And at the end of seventy years — ] Tyre, after
its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, recovered, as it is here
foretold, its ancient trade, wealth, and grandeur ; as it did
262
NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXIII.
likewise after a second deslruclion by Alexander. It be-
came Chii-stian early with the rest of the neighbouring coun-
tries. St. Paul himself found many Christians there, Acts
xxi. 4. Ii suHered mucli in tlie Diocletian persecution. It
was an archbishojirick under the patriarchate of Jerusalem,
with fourteen bishopricks under its jurisdiction. It con-
tinued Ciiristian till it was taken by the Saracens in G39 :
was recovered by the Christians in X124. But in 1280
was conquered by the Mamelukes ; and afterwards taken
from them by the Turks in 151G. Since that time it has
sunk into utter decay; is now ^a mere ruin; a bare rock;
*'a place to spread nets upon," as the Prophet Ezekiel fore-
told it should be, chap. xxvi. l\. See Sandys's Travels ;
Vitringa on the ])lace ; Bishop Newton on the Prophecies,
Dissert, xi.
CHAPTER XXIV.
From the xiiith chapter to .the xxiiid inclusive, the fate
of several cities and nations is denounced; — of Babylon, of
the Philistines, Moab, Damascus, Egypt, Tyre. After hav-
ing foretold the destruction of the foreign nations, enemies of
Jiidah, the Prophet declares the judgments impending on tiie
people of God themselves, for their wickedness and apostasy ;
and the desolation that shall be brought on their whole coun-
try. ^
The xxivth, and the three following chapteis, seem to
have been delivered about the same time — before the de-
struction of Moab by Shalmaneser, (see xxv. 10.) ; conse-
quently before the destruction of Samaria ; i)robably in the
begiiming of Hezekiah's reign. But concerning the partic-
ular subject of the xxivth chapter, interpreters are not at
all agreed : some refer it to the desolation caused by the in-
vasion of Shalmaneser ; others to the invasion of Nebuchad-
nezzar ; and others to the destruction of the city and
nation !)y the Romans. Vitringa is singular in ids opinion,
who applies it to the persecution of Aiitiochus Epi|jhanes.
Perhaps it may have a view to all of the three great desola-
tions of the. country, by Slialmaneser, by Nebuchadnezzar,
and by the Romans ; especially the last, to which some parts
of it may seem more peculiarly applicable. However, the
Prophet chielly eniploys general images ; such as set forth
the greatness and universality of the nun and desolation
CHAP. XXIV. NOTES OX ISAIAH. 263
that is to be brought upon the country by these great revo-
lutions, involving all orders and degrees of men. changing
entirely the face of things, and destroying the whole polity
both religious and civil : without entering into minute circum-
stances, or necessarily restraining it by particular marks to one
great event, exclusive of others of the same kind.
4. The world langidsheth] The world is the same with
the land ; that is. the kingdoms of Judah and Israel ; orbis
Israeliticus. See note on chap. xiii. 11.
.5. — the law] n->ir, singular: so read LXX. Svr.
Chald.
6. — are destroyed] For i^. read iir-in: see LXX. Syr.
Chald. Sym.
9. — palm wine — ] This is the proper meaning of the
word ■>;•:.•, •rinma.; see note on chap. v. 11. All enjoyment
shall cease ; the sweetest wine shall become bitter to their
taste.
11. — is passed av:ay] For n;i;'j ^^^^ r:-<:;*; transpos-
ing a letter : Houbigant. Secker. Five MSS (two an-
cient) add ^2 after :::•;:•; : LXX add the same word before
it.
14. But these — ] That is. they that escaped out of these
calamities. The great distresses brought upon Israel and
Judah drove the people away, and dispersed them all over
the neighbouring countries : they fled to Eg)pf, to Asia
Minor, to the islands and the coasts of Greece. They were
to be found in great numbers in most of the principal cities
of these countries, Alexandria was in a great measure
peopled by them. They had synagogues for their worship
in many places ; and were greatly instrumental in propagat-
ing the knowledge of the true Go^i amongst these heathen
nations, and preparing ihem for the reception of Christian-
ity. This is what the Prophet seems to mean by the cele-
bration of the name of Jehovah in the waters, in the dis-
tant coasts, and in the uttermost parts of the land, l'":,
the waters ; Jciyf , LXX : .jjara, Theod.: not L^n.from the
sea.
15. In the didajit coasts of the sea] For r^iC, I sup-
pose we ought to reado't.'c; which is in a great degiee
justified by the repetition of the word in the next member
of the sentence, with the addition of u'n to vary the phrase,
exactly in the manner of the Prophet. L"x is a word
chiefly applied to any distant countries, especially those
2G4 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP, XXIV.
lying on thf MedileriaKean Sea. Others conjecture onxo,
nnnn, l^^xd, D'::;'3, D^-iinn ; Dmx2, a ivvn, illustiati ; Le Clerc.
Twenty-three MSS read d'iixd. The LXX t!o not acknowl-
edge the reading of the text, expressing here only the word
C"N, £v rxii vnToti, and that not repeated. But MSS Pachoni.
and I, D. ii. su[)ply in this place the defect in the other co-
pies of LXX, thus : A<«t tuto v] Ja|a Kvpia a-xt ev rctii VTjo-oii Ty,^
^xXxr~r,<i' ev Txiq vijToii ro o\iof<.x, ra Kvpia Qm It^cc^.X evoo^ov erxt. Ac-
cording to which the LXX had in tiieir Hebrew ccpy cno,
repealed afterward, not D'in:?.
16. But I said — ] The Prophet speaks in the person
of the inhabitants of the land still remaining there ; who
shouki be pursued" by divine vengeance, and sufier repeated
distresses from the inroads and depredations oftlieir powerful
enemies. Agreeably to what he said before in a general de-
nunciation of these calamities.
" Though there be a tenth part remaining in it;
Even this shall undergo a repeated destruction."
Chap. vi. 13. See the note there.
Ibid. The plunderers plunder^ The note on chap. xxi. 2.
17, 18. The terror, the ])it, — ] If they escape one cala-
mity, another shall overtake them ;
" As if a man should fiee from a lion, and a bear should over-
take him:
Or should betake himself to his house, and lean his hand on
the wall,
And a serpent shall bite him." Amos v. 19.
For, as our Saviour expressed it in a like parabolical man-
ner, " wheresoever the carcass is, there shall the eagles be
gatliercd together ;" Matt. xxiv. 28. The images are taken
from the dillerent methods of hunting and taking wild beasts,
which were anciently in use. The terror was a line strung
with feathers of all colours, which fluttering in the air scared
and frightened the beasts into the toils, or into the pit, which
was prepared for them. " Nee est mirum, cum maximos
fcrarum greges linca pcnnis distincta contineaf, et in insidias
aiiat, ab ipso eficctu dicta Formido:"' Seneca de ira, ii.
12. The pit, or pit-fall. Fovea ; digged deep in the ground,
and covered over with green boughs, turf, 6cc. in order to
deceive them, that they might fall into it unawares. The
snare, or toils, Indago; a series of nets, inclosing at fust a
great space of ground, in which the wild beasts were known
to be ; and then drawn in by degrees into a narrower com-
CHAP. XXIV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 265
pass, till they were at last closely shut up, and entangled in
them.
For '7iprD a IMS reads 'jsn, as it is in Jer. xlviii. 44. ; and
so the Vulg. and Chald. But perhaps it is onlv, like the
latter, a Hebraism, and means no more than the simple pre-
position rj. See Psal. cii. 6. For it does not appear, that
the terror was intended to scare the wild beasts by its noise.
The paronomasia is very remarkable ; pachadpachath pack:
and that it was a common proverbial form, a|)pears from Jer-
ennah's repeating' it in the same words, chap, xlviii. 43,
44.
18. from the pit] For "[mo, from the midst of a MS
reads vra^from., as it is in Jer. xlviii. 44. ; and so likewise
LXX, Syr. Vulg.
19. The land] " ]"iNn, forte delendum n, ut ex praece-
dente ortum. Vid. seqq." Secker.
20. — like a lodge for a niffht.] See note on cliap. i. 8.
21 — 23. — 0)1 high, — on earth — ] That is, the ecclesias-
tical and civil polity of the Jews ; which shall be destroyed :
The nation shall continue in a state of depression and dere-
liction for a long time. The image seems to be taken from
the practice of the great monarchs of that time ; who, when
they had thrown their wretched captives into a dungeon,
never gave themselves the trouble of inquiring about them ;
but let tdiem lie a long time in that miserable condition,
wholly destitute of relief, and disregarded. God shall at
length revisit and restore his people in the last age ; and then
the kingdom of God shall be established in such perfection,
as wholly to obscure and eclipse the glory of the temporary,
typical, preparative kingdom now subsisting.
" The figurative language of the Prophets is taken from
the analogy between the world natural, and an empire or
kingdom considered as a world politic. Accordingly the
whole world natural, consisting of heaven and earth, signifies
the whole world politic, consisting of thrones and people,
or so much of it as is considered in prophecy ; and the
things in that world signify the analogous things in this.
For the heavens and the things therein signify thrones and
dignities, and those who enjoy them ; and the earth, with
the things thereon, the inferior people ; and the lowest parts
of the earth, called hades or hell, the lowest or most misera-
ble part of them. — Great earthquakes, and the shaking of
heaven and earth, are put for the shaking of kingdoms, so
28
266 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXIV.
as to distract and oveillnow tliem ; the creating a new
heaven and earth, and the passing of an old one, or the be-
ginning and end of a world, for the rise and ruin of a body-
politic signified thereby.— The sun, for the whole species
and race of kings, in the kingdoms of the world politic ;
the moon, for the body of the common people, considered
as the king's wife ; the stars, for subordinate princes and
great men ; or for bishops and rulers of the people of God,
when the sun is Christ : — setting of the sun, moon, and
stars ; darkening the sun, turning the moon into blood, and
fiiUing of the stars, for the ceasing of a kingdom." Sir 1.
Newton, Observations on the Prophecies, Part I. chap. ii.
CHAPTER XXV.
It doth not appear to me, that this chapter hath any close
and particular connexion with the chapter immediately pre-
ceding, taken separately, and by itself. The subject of that
was the desolation of the land of Israel and Judah, by the
just judgment of God, for the wickedness and disobedience
of the people ; which, taken by itself, seems not with any
propriety to introduce a hymn of thanksgiving to God for
his mercies to his people in delivering them from their ene-
mies. But taking the whole course of prophecies, from the
xiiith to the xxivth chapter inclusive, in which the Prophet
foretells the destruction of several cities and nations, enemies
to the Jews, and of tlie land of Judah itself, yet with inti-
mations of a remnant to be saved, and a restoration to be at
length etfected by a glorious establishment of the kingdom
of God ; with a view to this extensive scene of God's pro-
vidence in all its parts, and in all its conse(|ucnces, the Pro-
phet niay well be supposed to break out into this song of
praise ; in which his mind seems to be more possessed with
the prospect of future mercies than with the recollection of
the past.
2. — tJie c'lti/ — ] Nineveh, Babylon, Ar Moab, or any
other strong fortress possessed by the enemies of the jieople
of God.
For the first v;'o, Syr. Vulg. read r;'n; LXX, and
Chald. read, in the plural, on;*, transposing the letters.
After the second t^'d, a MS adds '7:'?.
Ibid. — the j)roud ones — ] For D'it, straiig-crs, MS
CHAP. XXV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 5^67
Bodl. and another read onr, tlie 'proud : so likewise the
LXX; for they render it xTeQav here, and in verse 5th, as
they do in some other places : see Deut. xviii. 20. 22.
Another MS reads nnv, adversaries ; which also makes a
good sense. But on? and on? are often confounded by the
great pimihtude of the letters t and i. See Mai. iii. 15.
iv. 1. Psal. xix. 14. apud LXX; and Psal. liv. 5. (where
Chald. reads dht) compared with Psal. Ixxxvi. 14.
4. — a lointer storm.] For yp read nip: or as n';r from
y))?, so '^^'p from mp : Capcllus.
5. — the proi(d~] The same mistake here as in ver. 2. :
see note there. Here cnr, the proud, is parallel to D'i''i;*,
the formidable ; as in Psal. liv. 5. and Ixxxvi. 14.
Ibid. As the heat by a thick cloud.^ For 3nn, Syr Chald.
Vulg. and two MS-S, read nira; which is a repetition of
the beginning of the forgoing parallel line : and the verse
taken out of the parallel form, and more fully expressed,
would run thus : " As a thick cloud interposing tempers
the heat of the sun on the burnt soil, so shalt thou, by the
inteiposition of thy power, bring low and abate the tumult
of the proud, and the triumph of the formidable."
6. — shall make for all the people a feast.] A feast is a
proper and usual expression of joy in consequence of vic-
tory, or any other great success. The feast here spoken of
is to be celebrated on Mount Sion, and all the peoples with-
out distinction are to be invited to it. This can be no other
than the celebration of the establishment of Christ's king-
dom, which is frequently represented in the gospel under
the image of a feast ; wliere many shall come from the east
and west, and shall sit down at table with Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven ;" Matt. viii. 11. See
also Luke xiv. 16. xxii. 29, 30. This sense is fully con-
firmed by the concomitants of this feast expressed in the
next verse ; the removing of the veil from the face of the
nations, and the abolition of death : the first of which is
obviously and clearly explained of the preaching of the gos-
pel ; and the second must 'mean the blessing of immortality
procured for us by Christ, " who hath abolished death and
through death hath destroyed him that had the power of
death."
Ibid. — of old vAnes'] Heb. lees / that is, of wines kept
long on the lees. The word used to express the lees in the
original signifies the preservers; because they preserve the
268 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXV.
Strength and flavour of the wine. " All recent wines, after
the fermentation has ceased, ought to be kept on their lees
for a certain time ; which greatly contribute to increase
their strength and flavour. Whenever this first fermenta-
tion has been deficient, they will retain a more rich and
sweet taste than is natural to them in a recent true vinous
state ; and unless further fernieniation is promoted by their
lying longer on their own lees, they will never attain their
genuine strength and flavor, but run into repeated and
ineffectual fermentations, and soon degenerate into a liquor
of an acetous kind. — All wines of a light and austere kind,
by a fermentation too great, or too long continued, cer-
tainly degenerate into a \\eak sort of vinegar; while the
stronger not only require, but will safely bear a stronger
and often repeated fermentation ; and are more apt to de-
generate from a defect than excess of fermentation, into a
vapid, ropy, and at length into a putrescent state :" Sir
Edward Barry, Observations on the VVines of the Ancients,
p. 9. 10.
Thevenot observes particularly of the Schiras wine, that,
after it is refined from the lees, it is apt to grow sour : " II
a beaucoup de lie ; c'est pourquoi il donne puissemment
dans la teste ; et pom' le rendre plus trailable, on le passe
par un chausse d'hypocras : apres quoi il est fort clair, et
moins fumeux. lis mettent ce vin dans des grandes jarres
de terre, qui tiennent dix ou douze jusqu'a quatorse cara-
bas : mais quand Ton a entame une Jarre, il faut la vuider
au plutost, et mettre le vin qu'on en tire dans des bouteilles
ou carabas ; car si Ton y manque en le laissant quelque tems
apres que la Jarre est entamee, il se gate et s'aigrit:"
Voyages, torn. ii. p. 24-5.
This clearly explains the very elegant comparison, or
rather allegory, of Jeremiah ; where the reader will find a
lemarkable example of the mixture of the proper with the
allegorical, not uncommon in the Hebrew poets :
" Moab hatli been at case from his youth,
And he hatli settled upon liis lees ;
Nor hath lie been drawn oft' from vessel to vessel,
IVeither hath he gone into captivity :
Wherefore his taste reniaincth in him,
And his flavor is not changed." Jcr. xlviii. 11.
Sir John Chardin's MS note on this place of Jeremiah
is as follows : " On change ainsi le vin de cupe en cupc en
CHA.P. XXV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 269
Orient ; et qunnd on en entame une, il faut la viiider en
petites cLipes ou bouteilles, sans qnoy il s'aigrit."
7, — the face of all — ] MS Bodl. reads '7D 'JS b;'. The
word 'Ji3 has been removed from its right place into the
line above, where it makes no sense ; as Houbigant conjec-
tured.
9. — shall they say — ] So LXX and Vulg. in the plural
number. They read nc«v Syr. reads n'lONi, Thou shalt
say.
10. — shall ffive rest — ] " Heb. nun, qniescet. Annon
n'li, qnietem dabit, ut Grasci, uvaTroivs-iv ^axrei, et Copt. ?''
Mr. VVoiDE. That is, " shall give peace and quiet to Sion,
by destroying the enemy ;" as it follows.
Ibid. As the strav) is threshed — ] "Hocjuxta ritum
loquitur Palasfince et multarum Orientis provinciarum,
quae ob pratorum et fteni peniiriam paleas preparant esui
animantium. Sunt autem carpenta ferrata rotis per medium
in serrarum modum se volventibus, quasstipulam conterunt ;
et comminnunt in paleas. duomodo igitur plaustris ferratis
palccB conleruntur, sic conteretur Moab sub eo ; sive sub
Dei potentia, sive in semetipso, ut nihil in co inlegri rema-
neat:" Hieron. in loc. See INote on chap, xxviii. 27.
Ibid. — under the wheels of the car.] For njrDio, LXX,
Syr. Vulg. read nnD'^o; which I have followed. See Joshua
XV. 21. compared with xix. 5. where there is a mistake very
nearly the same. The Keri, im, is confirmed ijy twenty-eight
MSS (seven ancient) and three editions.
11. As he that sinketh stretcheth out his hands to sivim.]
There is great obscurity in this place : some understand
God as the agent ; others Moab. I have chosen the latter
sense, as I cannot conceive that the stretching out of the
hands of a swinmier in swimming, can be any illustration of
the action of God stretching out his hands over Moab to
destroy it. I take nni^'n, altering the point on the ty on the
authority of LXX, to be the participle of nniy, the same
with niti' and nnty, inclinari, deprimi ; and that the Prophet
designed a paronomasia here, a figure which he frequent-
ly uses, between the similar words nn'^y and ninjy. As 'nnn,
in his place^ or on the spot, as we say, in the preceding
verse, gives us an idea of the sudden and complete destruc-
tion of Moab ; so imp::, in the midst of him, means that
this destruction shall be open, and exposed to the view
of all : The neighbouring nations shall plainly see him strug-
28*
270 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP XXV
gling against it. as a man in the midst of the deep waters
exerts all his efforts, by swimming, to save himself from
drowning.
CHAPTER XXVI.
1. — ive have a strong city] In opposition to the city of
the enemy, which God hath destroyed, chap. xxv. 2.; see the
note there.
3. — tlicij have trusted] So Chald. ito3. Syr. and Vulg.
read uriD^, we have trusted. Schioeder, Gram. Hcbr. p. 3G0.
explains the present reading, niu::, impersonally, coiifisum
est.
4. — in Jehovah] In Jah Jehovah, Heb.; but see
Honbigant, not. in cap. xii. 2.
8. We have placed our confidence in thy name] LXX,
Syr, and Chald. read ijnp, without tlie pronoun annexed.
9, — have I desired thee] Forty-one MSS (nine ancient),
and five editions, read I'n'iN. It is proper to note this ; be-
cause the second i being omitted in the text, Vulg. and man}'
others have rendered it in the third person.
16. — we have sought thee — ] So LXX, and two MSS,
"[i^npD, in the first person. And so perhaps it should be
Upi', in the first person : but how LXX read this word is not
clear ; and this last member of the verse is extremely ob-
scure.
For nh the LXX read i:'?, in the first person hkewise : a
fre(|uent mistake ; see note on chap. x. 29.
19. — 7ve have hrongJit forth wind] The learned pro-
fessor Michaelis explains this image in the following man-
ner: — " Rariorem morbum describi, empneumatosin, aut
ventosarn molam, dictum ; quo (juie laborant diu et sibi et
peritis medicis gravidas videntur, tandeuKjue post onmes vera?
graviditatis molestias et labores ventum ex utero emittunt :
quem morbum passim describunt medici :" Syntagma Com-
ment, vol. ii. p. 105. The Syriac translator seems to have
understood it in this manner : " Enixi sumus, ut ilia?, qua;
ventos pariunt."
Ibid. — in the land) yixD, so a MS, LXX, Syr. and
Yulg.
19, — iny deceased] All the ancient versions render it
in the plural ; they read 'ni^DJ, my dead bodies. Syr. and
Chald. read ori'mSDJ, their dead bodies.
CHAP. XXVI. NOTES ON ISAIAH, 271
Ibid. — of the daioii] Lucis, Vulg. ; so also Syr, and
Chald,
The deliverance of the people of God from a state of the
lowest depression, is explained by images plainly taken from
the resurrection of the dead. In the same manner the Pro-
phet Ezekiel represents the restoration of the Jewish nation
from a state of utter dissolution, by the restoring of the dry
bones to life, exhibited to him in a vision, chap, xxxvii.
which is directly thus applied and explained, ver. 11 — 13,
And this deliverance is expressed with a manifest opposition
to what is here said above, ver, 14. of the great lords and
tyrants under whom they had groaned ;
" They are dead, they shall not live ;
They are deceased tyrants, they shall not rise :"
that they should be destroyed utterl}^, and should never be
restored to their former power and glory. It appears from
hence that the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was
at that time a popular and common doctrine : for an image
which is assumed in order to express or represent any thing
in the way of allegory or metajjhor, whether poetical or pro-
phetical, must be an image commonly known and under-
stood ; otherwise it will not answer the purpose for which it
is assumed.
20. Come O my people ; retire — ] An exhortation to
patience and resignation under oppression, with a confident
expectation of deliverance, by the power of God manifestly
to be exerted in the destruction of the oppressor. It seems
to be an allusion to the command of Moses to the Israelites,
when the destroying angel was to go through the land of
Egypt, " not to go out at the door of their houses until the
morning ;" Exod, xii. 22. And before the passage of the
Red Sea : " Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation
of Jehovah : — Jehovah shall fight for you, and ye shall
hold your peace ;" Exod. xiv, 13, 14,
CHAPTER XXVII.
The subject of this chapter seems to be the nature, the
measure, and the design of God's deahngs with his people :
ver. 1. his judgments inflicted on their great and powerful
eneniies : ver, 2, his constant care and protection of his fa-
vourite vineyard, in the form of a dialogue : ver. 7. the mo-
272 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXVIF.
deration and lenity with which the severity of his judgments
have been tempered : ver. 9. the end and design of then),
to recover them from idolatry ; and, ver. 12. the recalling
of them, on their repentance, from their several disper-
sions. The first verse seems connected with the two last
verses of the preceding chajiter.
1. Leviathan^ i^*c.] The animals here mentioned seem
to be, — the crocodile, rigid, by the stitlhess of the back-bone,
so that he cannot readily turn himself, when he pursues his
prey ; hence the easiest way of escaping from him is by
making fre(iucnt and short turnings: the serpent, or dragon,
flexible and winding ; which coils himself up in a circular
form : the sea-monster, or tlie whale. These are used alle-
gorically, without doul>t, for great potentates, enemies and
persecutors of the people of God : but to specify the parti-
cular persons or states designed by the Prophet under these
images is a matter of great difficulty, and comes not neces-
sarily within the design of these notes.
2. — Tke beloved vinat/ard] For -ir^ri, a great number of
MSS, and some printed editions, have ion ; which is con-
firmed by LXX, and Chald.
Ibid. — a responsive song] That m;*, to answer^ signi-
fies occasionally to sing responsively ; and that this mode of
singing was frequently practised among tlie ancient Jews,
see De S. Poes. Hebr. Pni'l. xix. at the beginning.
3. I will ialce care of hcr'\ For "ipD' |D, Syr. read npDNi:
and fifteen MSS (six ancient), and six editions, read 'y'Dii)!^,
in the first person.
4. / have no wall] For nr^n, LXX and Syr. read
noin. An ancient MS has ttdti. For n^, two MSS
read D2, plural. The vineyard wishes for a wall, and a
fence of thorns; human strength and protection; (as the
Jews were too aj)t io apply to their powerful neighbours for
assistance, and to (rust to the shadow of Fygpl) : Jehovah
replies, that this would not avail her, nor defend her against
his wrath : he counsels her therefore to betake herself to his
I^rotection. On which she entreats him to make peace with
her.
" About Tripoly there arc abundance of vineyards and
gardens, enclosed for the most part with hedges ; which
chii^lly consist of the rhamnus, paliurus, oxyacantha," tfcc. :
Rawolf, p. 21, 22. A fence of thorns is esteemed equal to
a wall for strength, being commonly represented as impene-
trable. Sec Micah vii. 4. Hos. ii. 6.
CHAP. XXVII.
NOTES ON ISAIAH. 273
Ibid. — of the thorn and brier] Seven MSS (two an-
cient;, and one edition, and Syr. Vu!g. Aquila, read .-■2?'', with
the conjunction i prefixed.
5. Ah !] For ix, 1 read vx, as it wa.= at first in a MS.
The » was easily lost, being followed by another '.
6. —from the root] For Enzr- , I read with the Syr. ez-'Z?-:.
And for m^^ v'"^'j ^^^ yr'sr, joining the 1 to thefir=t word, and
taking that into construction with the first part of the sen-
tence. I suppose the dialogue to be continued in this verse,
which pursues the same image of the allegory, but in the way
of metaphor,
9. And if — ] kSi, four MSS (two ancient), and LXX.
11. — her houghs] n-i'vp, MS and Vulg. ; that is, the
boughs of the vineyard, referring still to the subject of the di-
alogue alx)ve.
The scarcity of fuel, especially wood, in most parts of the
East is so great, that they supply it with every thing capable
of burning ; cow dung dried, roots, parings of fruit, withered
stalks of herbs and flowers : see Matt. vi. 28 — 30. Vine-twigs
are particularly mentioned, as used for fuel in dressing their
food, by DAnieux ; La Rofjue, Palestine, p. 19S. Ezekiel
says, in his parable of the vine, used figuratively for the peo-.
pie of God, as the vineyard is here, '• Shall wood be taken,
thereof to do any work 7 or will men take a pin of it to hang
any vessel thereon ? Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel ; "
chap. XV. 3, 4, '• If a man abide not in me,"' saith our Lord,
" he is cast forth as a branch [of the vine], and is withered :
and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they
are burned ; " John xv. 6. They employed women and chil-
dren to gather these things ; and they laid them up in store
for use. The dressing and pruning of their vines afforded a
good supply of the last sort of fuel : but the Prophet says,
that the vines themselves of the beloved vineyard shall be
blasted, withered, and broken ; and the women shall come,
and gather them up, and carry away the whole of them, to
make their fires, for domestic uses. See Harmer. Observ, i.
p. 2.54. «fcc.
CHAPTER XXYIIL
1. The proud croini—] ••' Sebaste, the ancient Samaria,
is situated on a long mount of an oval figure ; having first
274 NOTES ON ISATAII. CHAP. XXVTII-
a fruitful valley, and then a ring of hill?, running round about
it : " MaundrcU, p. 58. " E regione horum rudcrum nions
est pcranwuns, pUuiitie aduiodinn IVugifera circuniseptui=. su-
j)er (jueni olim Samaria urbs condita fuit : " Fureri Itinerari-
um, [). 93. The city, beautifully situated on the top of a
round hill, and surrounded immediately with a rich valley,
and a circle of other hills beyond it, sugijested the idea of a
chaplet, or wreath of llowers, worn upon their heads on oc(^a-
sions of festivity ; expressed by the proud crown, and the
fad'nip: flower of the drunkards. That this custom of wear-
ing chaplets in their banquets prevailed among the Jews, as
well as among the Greeks and Romans, appears from, the
following passage of the book of Wisdom :
^' Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments,
And let no flower of the spring pass by us;
Let us crown ourselves with rose-buds, before they are
withered." Wisd. ii. 7, 8.
2. — tlte exceedingly strong one] mxb "OX, fortis Dom-
ino, i. e. fortissimus, a Hebraism. For 'Jix^, thirty-eight
MSS, and two editions, read mrr'?.
3. — croivns] ' I read nnt^;', jjlural, to agree with the
verb njDoin.
4. Tlie early frnAt before siimmer'\ " No sooner doth the
boccore [the early fig] draw near to perfection, in the middle
or latter end of June, than the kcrmeZj or summer fig, be-
gins to be formed, though it rarely ripens before August ;
about which time the same tree frequently throws out a third
crop, or the winter fiij, as we may call it. This is usually
of a much longer shape and darker complexion than the
kermez, hanging and ripening upon the tree even after the
leaves are shed ; and, provided the winter proves mild and
temperate, is gathered as a delicious morsel in the spring:"
Shaw, Travels, p. 370. fob The image was very obvious to
the inhabitants of Judea and the neighbouring countries, and
is frecjuently api)lied by the Prophets to express a desirable
Qbject ; by none more elegantly than by llosea, chap. ix.
10.
" Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel;
Like the first ripe fig in her prime, I saw your fathers."
Ibid. — he plncketh it] For nxT, which with nxin
makes a miserable tautology, read by a transposition of a
letter mf<' ; a happy conjecture of lloubigant, The imago
CHAP. XXVIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 275
expresses in the strongest manner the great ease with which
the Assyrians shall take the city and the whole kingdom,
and tlie avidity with v/hich they shall seize the rich prey
without resistance.
5. In that day — ] Thus far the pi'ophccy relates to the
Israelites, and manifestly denounces their approaching de-
struction by Shahmaneser. Here it turns to ihe two tribes
ofJudah and Benjamin, the remnant of C4od's people, who
were- to continue a kingdom after the final captivity of the
Israelites. It begins with a favourable prognostication of
their aH'airs under Hezekiah ; but soon changes to reproofs
and threateningSj for their intemperance, disobedience, -and
profaneness.
6. — to the gate of the enemy\ That is, who pursue the
fleeing enemy even to the very gates of their own city :
"But we were upon them even unto the entering of the
gate;" 2 Sam. xi. 23. ; that is, vre drove the enemy back to
their own gates : see also 1 Sam. xvii. 52.
9. Whom [sa/i/ they] would lie teach — ] The scoffers
mentioned below, ver. 14. are here introduced as ultering
their sententious speeches : they treat God's method of deal-
ing with them, and warning them by his Prophets, with
contempt and derision. Vvhat, say they, doth he treat us
as mere infants just weaned ? doth he teach us like little
children, perpetually inculcating the same elementary les-
sons, the mere rudiments of knowledge ; precept after pre-
cept, line after line, here and there, by little and little?
imitating at the sanie time, and ridiculing, ver. 10, the con-
cise prophetical manner. God by his Prophet retorts upon
them, with great severity, their own contemptuous mockeiy ;
turning it to a sense quite different from what they intended.
Yes, saith he, it shall be in fact as you say : ye shall be
taught by a strange tongue, and a stammering lip ; in a
strange country : ye shall be carried into captivity by a
people whose language shall be unintelligible to you, and
which ye shall be forced to learn like children : and my
dealing with you shall be according to your own words ; it
shall be command upon command for your punishment ; it
shall be line upon line, stretched over you to mark cut your
destruction ; (compare 2 Kings xxi. 13.) : it shall come upon
you at different times, and by different degrees ; till the
judgments, with which from time to time I have threatened
you, shall have their full accomplishment.
276 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXVIII.
Jerom seems to have rightly understood the general de-
sign of this passage, as expressing the manner in which the
scoffers, by their sententious speeches, turned into ridicule
the warnings of God by his Prophets ; though he has not
so well explained the meaning of the repetition of their
speech in the l3Lh verse. His words, are, on ver. 9. "Sole-
bant hoc ex persona Prophelarum ludentes dicere :" and on
ver. 14. " Quod supra diximus, cum irrisione solitos prin-
cipes Juda^orum Prophetis dicere, maiida, remanda^ et
caetera his similia, per, t|uaj ostenditur, nequacjuani eos Pro-
phetarura credidisse sermonibus, sed Prophctiam habuisse
despectui, prsesens ostendit capitulum, per quod appellantur
viri iUusores :" Hieron. in loc.
And so Jarchi interprets the word U'^VJ^ in the next
verse : " Qui dicunt verba irrisionis parabolice." And the
Chaldee paraphrases the 11th verse to the same purpose,
understanding it as spoken not of God, but of the people
deriding his prophets : " Quoniam in mutatione loquela; et
in lingua subsannationis irridebant contra Prophetas (|ui
prophetabant populo huic."
12. Tills is the true rest — ] The sense of tliis verse is :
God had warned them by his prophets, that their safety
and security, their deliverance from their present calamities,
and from the apprehensions of still greater approaching,
depended wholly on their trust in God, their faith and obe-
dience ; but they rejected this gracious warning with con-
tempt and mocker3^
15. — a covenant v)ith death] To be in covenant with,
is a kind of proverbial expression to denote perfect security
from evil and mischief of any sort :
" For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field ;
And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee."
Job v. 23.
" And I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the
field.
And with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things
of the ground." Hos. ii. 18.
That is, none of these shall hurt them. But Lucan, speak-
ing of the Psylli, whose peculiar property it was to be unhurt
by the bite of serpents, wilh which ihcir country abounded,
comes still nearer to the expression of Isaiah in this i)lacc : —
CHAP. XXVIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 277
" Gens unica terras
Incolit a sa?vo serpentum innoxia morsu
MarmaridtE Psylli.
Pax illis cum morte data est." Pharsal. ix. 894.
" Of all who scorching Afric's sun endure,
None like the swarthy Psyllians are secure;
With healing gifts and privileges graced,
Well in the land of serpents were they placed:
Truce with the dreadful tyrant death they have,
And border safely on his realm the grave." Rowe.
18. — sliall he brokeii\ Per i£3D, which seems not to be-
long to this place, Chald. reads "lijn; which is approved by
Houbigant and Secker : see Jer. xxxiii. 21. where the very
same phrase is used. See Prelim. Dissert, p. xxxi.
20. — Fo7' the bed is too short — ] A maslial or prover-
bial saying, tlie meaning of which is, that they will find all
means of defence and protection insufficient to secure them,
and cover them from the evils coming upon them, pn, chap,
xxii. 8. the covering, is used for the outworks of defence,
the barrier of the country; and here in the allegorical sense
it means much the same thing. Their beds were only mat-
tresses laid on the floor ; and the coverlet, a sheet, or in the
winter a carpet, laid over it, in which the person wrapt him-
self. For DJJnnj, it ought probably to be D:Dr.nD: Houbigant,
K5ECKER.
23. Listen ye, and hear my voice — ] The foregoing dis-
course, consisting of severe reproofs, and threatenings of
dreadful judgments impending on the Jews for their vices,
and their profane contempt of God's warnings by his mes-
sengers, the Prophet concludes with an explanation and de-
fence of God's method of dealing with his people in an ele-
gant parable or allegory; in which he employs a variety of
images, all taken from the science of agriculture. As the
husbandman uses various methods in preparing his land, and
adapting it to the several kinds of seed to be sown, with a
due observation of times and seasons ; and, when he hath
gathered in his harvest, employs methods as various in sepa-
rating the corn from the straw and the chafiT by different in-
struments, according to the nature of the different sorts of
grain : so God, with unerring wisdom, and with strict jus-
tice, instructs, admonishes, and corrects his people ; chastises
and punishes them in various ways, as the exigence of the
case requires ; now more moderately, now more severely ;
always tempering justice with mercy ; in order to reclaim
29
278 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXVIII,
the wicked, to improve the good ; and finally, to separate the
one from the other.
26. For his God instriicteth him] All nations have agreed
in attributing agriculture, the most useful and the most ne-
cessary of all sciences, to the invention and to the suggestions
of their deities. " The Most High hath ordained husbandry,"
saith the son of >Sirach ; Eccl'us vii. 1,5.
"Namque Ceres fertur fruges, Liberque liquoris
Vitigeni laticem mortahbus instituisse." Lucretius, v. 14.
Ai^icc <rijf/.xt)isi, Xxovi ^'' eTfi fjyov eysipsi
M.if^v>](ry.6)v jiioroio' Asyfi a on /3&>Ao5 apt?-))
Bovo-i re km yMKiXviTt' Xsyei P ore ^i^icct a^cct
¥mi (pvTx yv^UTxiy y.on inri^i^xroc, vctiTu, ^x>£ir6cii. Aratus, Phaen. 5.
He (Jupiter) to the human race
Indulgent, prompts to necessary toil
Man provident of life; with kindly signs
The seasons marks, when best to turn the glebe
With spade and plough, to nurse the tender plant,
And cast o'er fostering earth the seeds abroad.
27, 28. Four methods of threshing are here mentioned, by
different instruments ; the flail, the drag, the wain, and the
treading of the cattle. The staff, or flail, was used for the
injirniiora semina, says Ilieron. the grain that was too tender
to be treated in the other methods. The drag consisted of
a sort of frame of strong planks, made rough at the bottom
with hard stones or iron : it was drawn by horses or oxen over
the corn-sheaves spread on the floor, the driver sitting upon
it. Kempfer has given a print representing the manner of
using this instrument : Amu-n. Exot. p. 682. fig. 3. The
wain was much like the former, but luid wiieels with iron
teeth or edges like a saw. " Ferrata carpenta rotis per me-
dium in serrarum modum se volventibus : " Ilieron. in loc. ;
by which it should seem that the axle was armed with iron
teeth, or serrated wheels, throughout. See a description
and print of such a machine used at present in Egypt for
the same purpose; it moves upon three rollers armed with
iron teeth or wheels, to cut the straw ; in Niebuhr's Voyage
en Arable, tab. xvii. p. 123. In Syria they make use of the
drag, constructed in the very same manner as above de-
scribed : JXiebuhr, Description de I'Arabie, p. 110. This
not only forced out the grain, but cut the straw in pieces
for fodder for the cattle ; for in the eastern countries they
CHAP. XXVIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 279
have no hay. See Harmer's Observ. i. p. 425. The last
melhod is well known from the law of Moses, which " forbids
the ox to be muzzled, when he treadeth out the corn ;" Deut.
XXV. 4.
28. — but the hread-corn — ] I read dd"?!, on the author-
ity of Yulg. and Symniachus : the former expresses the
conjuuction 1, omitted in the text, by a^^^ew^ ; the latter by
Ibid. — hoofs — ] For vtsiD, horsemen, read rois, hoofs: so
Syr. Sym, Theod. Vulg.
CHAPTER XXIX.
The subject of this and the four following chapters is the
invasion of Senacherib ; the great distress of the Jews while
it continued ; their sudden and unexpected deliverance by
God's immediate interposition in their favour ; the subse-
quent prosperous state of the kingdom under Hezekiah ; —
interspersed with severe reproofs, and threats of punishment,
for their hypocrisy, stupidity, infidelity, their want of trust
in God, and their vain reliance on the assistance of Egypt ;
and with promises of better times, both immediately to suc-
ceed, and to be expected in the future age. The whole
making not one continued discourse, but rather a collection
of different discourses upon the same subject ; which is treat-
ed with great elegance and variety : though the matter is va-
rious, and the transitions sudden, yet the Prophet seldom goes
far from his subject. It is properly enough divided by the
chapters in the common translation,
1. Ariel — ] That Jerusalem is here called by this name
is very certain • but the reason of this name, and tlie mean-
ing of it as applied to Jerusalem, is very obscure and doubt-
ful. Some, with the Chaldee, suppose it to be taken from
the hearth of the great altar of burnt-offerings, which Ezekiel
plainly calls by the same name ; and that Jerusalem is here con-
sidered as the seat of the fire of God, "7^ iix, which should
issue from thence to consume his enemies : compare chap,
xxxi. 9. Some, according to the common derivation of the
word, '7N "ix, the lion of God, or the strong lion, suppose
it to signify the strength of the place, by which it was en-
abled to resist and overcome all its enemies. Ttm ^s
280 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXIX.
ccvrx'^iVTXi: Procop. in loc. There are other explanations of
this name given, bill none that seems to be perfectly satisfac-
tory.
Ibid. Add year to yea?- — ] Ironically : Go on year after
year ; keep your solemn feasts : yet know, that God will
punish you for your hypocritical worship, consisting- of mere
form destitute of true piety. Probably delivered at the time
of some great fea^t, when they were thus employed.
2. — mow'iiing and sorroic — ] Instead of your present
joy and festivity.
Ibid. — as the hearth of the great altar — ] That is. it
shall be the seat of the fire of Gud ; which shall issue from
thence to consume his enemies. See note on ver. 1. Or,
perhaps, all on flame, as it was when taken by the Chal-
deans ; or covered with carcasses and blood, as when taken
by the Romans : an intimation of which more distant events,
though not inmiediate subjects of the prophecy, may perhaps
be given in this obscure passage.
3. —like David] For -inD read inD; So LXX, and tv.o
MSS, and f. two more.
Ibid. — toivers — ] For rmirra read nnyo ; so LXX, and
five MSS, one of them ancient.
4. — a feeble speech] That the souls of the dead uttered
a feeble stridulous sound, very diflerent from the natural
human voice, was a popular notion among the heathens as
veil as among the Jews. This appears from several pas-
sages of their poets ; Homer, Viigil, Horace. The pre-
tenders to the art of necromancy, who were chiefly women,
had an art of speaking with a feigned voice ; so as to deceive
those who applied to them, by making them believe that it
was the voice of the ghost. They had a way of uttering
sounds, as if they were formed, not by the organs of speech,
but deep in the chest, or in the belly ; and were thence
called cyfuT^iyjueoi, ventriloi|ui : they could make ihe voice
seem to come from beneath the ground, from a distant part,
in another direction, and not from themselves, the better to
impose upon those who consulted them. E^eTrirr^S'si t« yEvag
T«t;r<» Tev uft.vS'^ov VZ"* c7riTi;^ivovTxi , ivct hx tjjv xi-a/pnoa rr,^ pmr.i tov Taw
-^Peu^ovi uTTo^i^^xTicMTiy c>^cyxo* '■ Psellus de Da'mouibus, apud
Bochart. i. p. 731. " Thrse people studiously aciiuire, and
aflect on purpose, this sort of obscure sound, that by the
uncertainty of the voice they may the better escape being
detected in the cheat." From these arts of tho necromun-
CHAP. XXIX. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 2S1
cers, the popular notion seems to have arisen, that the ghost's
voice was a weak, stridulous, ahnost inarticulate sort of
sound, very different from the speecii of the living.
5. — the jnoud — ] For yiT, thy strangers, read D'nr, the
proud, LXX ; parallel and synonymous toD'^'")j,' the terrible,
in the next line : the i was at first n in a MS. See note on
XXV. 2.
5 — 7. But the multitude of the 2:>rond — ] These verses
contain an admirable description of the destruction of Se-
nacherib's army, with a beautiful variety of the most expres-
sive and sublime images ; perhaps more adapted to shew
the greatness, the suddenness, and horror, of the event,
than the means and manner by which it was effected. Com-
pare chap XXX. 30 — 33.
7. — like as a dream — ] This is the beginning of the
comparison, which is pursued and applied in the next verse.
Senacherib and his mighty army are not compared to a
dream, because of their sudden disappearance : but the dis-
appointment of their eager hopes is compared to what hap-
pens to a hungry and thirsty man, when he awakes from a
dream in which fancy had presented to him meat and drink
in abundance, and finds it nothing but a vain illusion.
The comparison is elegant and beautiful in the highest de-
gree, well wrought up, and perfectly suited to the end pro-
posed : the image is extremely natural, but not obvious ; it
appeals to our inward feelings, not to our outward senses ;
and is applied to an event in its concomitant circumstances
exactly similar, but in its nature totally difTerent. See De
S. Poes. Hebr. Praelect. xii. For beauty and ingenuity it
may fairly come in competition with one of the most elegant
of Virgil, (greatly improved from Homer, Iliad xxii. 199.),
where he has applied to a different purpose, but not so hap-
pily, the same image of the ineffectual working of imagina-
tion in a dream : —
" Ac veluti in somnis oculos ubi languida pressit
Nocte quies, necquicquam avidos extendere cursus
Velle videmur, et in mediis conatibus ffigri
Succidimus ; non lingua valet, non corpore notae
Sufficiunt vires, nee vox, aut verba sequuntur." ^n. xii. 908.
" And as, when slumber seals the closing sight,
The sick wild fancy labours in the night ;
Some dreadful visionary foe we shun
With airy strides, but strive in vain to run ;
29*
282 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXIX.
In vain our baffled limbs their powers essay ;
"We faint, we struggle, sink, and tall away ;
Drain'd of our strength, we neither fight nor fly,
And on the tongue the struggling accents die." Pitt.
Lucretius expresses the very same image with Isaiah :
"Ac veluti in somnis sitiens quum quurit, et humor
Non datur, ardorcm in membris qui stinguere possit :
Sed laticum siinulachra petit, frustraque laborat,
In medioque sitit torrenti flumine potans." iv. 1091.
Ibid. — tlicir armies and their towers] For nmiroi n"3i',
I read with tlie Chald. nmi'oi DXDy.
9. They are drunken, but not ivith wi7ie.] See note on
chap. h. 21.
11. J cannot read it — ] An ancient MS and LXX have
preserved a word liere, lost out of the text, nnpS, (for
nXIpb), etvccyvavM.
13. Jehovah — ] For 'J-ij<, sixty-three MSS and three
editions read nin*, and five MSS add nirr.
Ibid. And vain — ] I read, for 'nm, inni with LXX,
Matt. XV. 9. Mark vii. 7. ; and for mobo, O'lrobo with
Chald.
17. Ere Lebanon become like Carmel — ] A mashal, or
proverbial saying, expressing any great revolution of tilings;
and, when respecting two subjects, an entire reciprocal
change: explained here by some interpreters, I think with
great probability, as having its principal view beyond the
revolutions then near at hand ; to the rejection of the Jews,
and the calling of the Gentiles. The first were the vine-
yard of God, bx DID, (if tiie Prophet, who loves an allu-
sion to words of like sounds, may be supposed to have
intended one here), cultivated and watered by him in vain,
to be given up, and to become a wilderness : compare chap.
V. 1 — 7. The last had been hitherto barren, but were, by
the grace of God, to be rendered fruitful. See Matt. xxi.
43. Rom. xi. 30, 31. Carmel stands here opposed to Le-
banon, and therefore is to be taken as a proper name.
21. — that ])leaded in the ffate] '• They are heard by
the treasurer, master of the horse, and other principal olfi-
cers of the regency [of Algiers], who sit constantly in the
gate of the palace for that purpose ;" [that is, the distribu-
tion of justice] : Shaw's Travels, p. 315. fol. He adds, in
the note, " That we read of the elders in the ffotc, Deut.
xxii. 15. XXV. 7. ; and Isa. xxix. 21. Amos. v. 10. of him
CHAP. XXIX. NOTES ON' ISAIAH. 2S3
that reprovetk and rehuketh in the gate. The Ottoman
Court likewise seems lo have been called the Port, from the
distribution of justice, and the despatch of pubUc business,
that is carried on in the gates of it.''
22. — the God of the house of Jacob.] I read '■jti as a
noun, not a preposition : the parallel line favours this sense :
and there is no address to the house of Jacob, to justify the
other.
Ibid. — covered with confusion] "• rrrv, Chald. 'it o
{u£Toe^»>M\ Theod. iiTPATrr.r-nti.^ Syr. punJ, ^^delu^ leg-endum
r\2rv : hie euira solum lesritur verbum iin, nee in linguis
eiflQnibus habet pudoris significationem : " Secker.
23. When his children shall see — ] For ^ri^2, I read
r^iCQ, with LXX and Svr.
CHAPTER XXX.
i. Vr'ho ratify covenants — ] Heb. "Who jjour out a
libation." Sacrifice and hbation were ceremonies constant-
iv used, in ancient times, by most nations, in the ratifying
of covenants : a libation therefore is used for a covenant, £is
in Greek the word c^ojdi;, for the same reason, stands for
both. This seems lo be the most easy explication of the
Hebrew phrase ; and it has the authority of the LXX.
4. — at Hanes] Six MSS. and perhaps six others, read
D^i, in vain, for D:n, Hanes ; and so also LXX. who read
likewise i;*:', laboured, for i;*':*, arrived at.
5. — were ashamed — ] Eight MSS (one ancient) read
W"zr\ without «. So Chald. and Vulg.
Ibid. But proved — ] Four MSS (three ancient) after
':; add ex, which seems wanted to complete the phrase in its
usual form.
6. The burthen — ] x'^yo seems here to be taken in its
proper sense ; the load, not the oracle. The same subject
is continued ; and there seems to be no place here for a new
title to a distinct prophecy.
Ibid. — a land of distress — ] The same deserts are here
spoken of, which the Israelites passed through when they
came out of Egypt ; which Moses descriljes. Deut. viii. 15.
as " that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery
serpents, and scorpions, and drought : where there was no
284 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXX.
water." And which was designed to be a kind of barrier
between them and Egypt, of which the Lord had said, "Ye
shall henceforth return no more that way ; " Deut. xvii, 16.
6. — will not profit them'] A MS adds in the margin the
word iD^, which seems to liave been lost out of the text : it
is authorized by LXX and Vulg.
7. RaJiab the Inactive] The two last words, n3iy on,
joined into one, make the participle pihel, WD'on. I lind,
that the learned professor Uoederlein, in his version of Isaiah,
and note on this place, has given the same conjecture ;
which he speaks of as liaving been formerly published by
him. A concurrence of diO'erent persons in the same conjec-
ture/ adds to it a greater degree of probability.
o. For a testunony] Tjh, so Syr. Ghald. Vulg. and LXX,
in MSS Pachom. and i. I), n. m yM^Jv^toi ; which two word.s
have been lost out of the other copies of LXX.
• 12. — in obliquity] £yp;'D, transposing the two last letters
of piy^S, in oppression, which seems not to belong to this
place : a very probable conjecture of Houbigant.
13. — a swelling in a high waif] It has been observed
before, that the buildings in Asia generally consist of little
better than what we call mud-walls. " All the houses at
Ispahan," says Thevenot, vol. ii. p. 159. "are built of bricks
made of clay and straw, and dried in the sun ; and covered
with a plaster made of a fine white stone. In other places
in Persia, the houses are built with nothing else but such
bricks, made with tempered clay and chopped straw, well
mingled together, and dried in the sun, and then used : but
the least rain dissolves them." Sir John Chardin's MS re-
mark on this place of Isaiah is very apposite : " Murs en Asie
etant fails de terre se fendent ainsi par milieu et de haut en
has." This shews clearly how obvious and expressive the
image is. The Psalmist has in the same manner made use
of il, to express sudden and utter destruction :
" Ye shall be slain all of you;
[Ye shall be] like an inclining wall, like a shattered fence."
Psal. Ixii. 4.
14. — and spareth it not] Five MSS add the conjunc-
tion 1 to the negative ; k^l
17. — ten thousand —] In the second line of this verse
a word is manifestly omitted, which should ansvvcr to one
thousand in the first: LXX supply ^e)^>^ai, D'3n. But the
true word is nD:3*); as, I am persuaded, any one will be
CHAP. XXX. NOTES OX ISAIAH. 2S5
convincet], who v.ill compare the following passage with
this place :
" How should one chase a thousand :
And two put ten thousand rn;;- ■ to flinrht ?"
Deut. xxxii. 30.
" And five of you shall chase a hundred ;
And a hundred of you shall chase [nii"'^ ten thousand."
Lev. XX vi. 8.
IS. — shall he expect in silence] For d*v, he shall be
exalted, w hich belongs not to this place, Houbigant reads ^
□n-, he shall be silent : and so it seems to be in a ^MS.
Another ]M.S instead of it reads rny', he shall return. The '
mistakes occasioned by the similitude of the letters t and n
are very frequent, as the reader may have already observed.
19. When a holy people — ] Am? «•/«««, LXX, 2rnp 27.
The word ZiMp, lost out of the text, but happily supplied '"
by LXX, clears up the sense, otherwise extremely obscure.
Ibid. — shali implore hirn with weeping] The negative
particle vh is cot acknowledged by LXX. It may perhaps "*
have Ijeen written by mistake for r, of which there are
many examples.
20. Though Jehovah — ] For •:ij^, sixteen MSS and
three editions have hti'.
21. —to the right, or to the left] Syr. Chald. Tulg.
translate as if, irrstead of ■2* — "u, they read sVi — x^.
22. And ye shall treat — ] The very prohibition of Mo-
ses, Deut. vii. 2.5. only thrown out of the prose into the
poetical form. '• The graven images of their gods ye shall
burn with fire : thou shalt not desire the silver or the gold
that is on them ; nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared
therein ; for it is an abomination to Jehovah thy God."'
2.5. — the mighty — J D''n:c, u^yx>^v<;j Sym. /*c'/«>.v»«««»6t£,
Aquila ; yyz'^, Chald.
26. — shall be sevenfold] The text adds, ryiv -X3
t'Tn, " as the hght of seven clays ;" a manifest gloss, taken
in from the margin : it is not in m.ost of the copies of LXX ;
it interrupts the rhythmical construction, and obscures the
sense by a false, or at least an unnecessary interpretation.
27. — the flame — ] nx^*:; this word seems to be rightly
rendered in our translation, the fame. Judg. xx. 30. 40.
&c, ; a sign of fire, Jer. vi. 1 . called properly nxs";, an ele-
vation, from its tending upwards.
2S. — to toss the nations with the van of perdition] The
286 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXX".
word r\2yrh is in its form very irregular. Kimchi says it is
for f]':n'7- Houbigant supposes it to be a mistake, and shews
the cause of it ; tiie adjoining it to tlie n, which should begin
the following word. The true reading is D'un f^'jnb.
The Vulgate seems to be the only one of tlie ancient in-
terpreters who has explained rightly the sense : but he^has
dropped the image: "ad perdendas gentes in nihilum."
Kimchi's explanation is to the following eiTect : " nsj is
a van with which ihey winnow corn ; and its use is to
cleanse the corn from the chaff and straw: but the van, with
which God will winnow the nations, will be the van of emp-
tiness, or perdition ; for nothing useful shall remain behind,
but all shall come to nothing, and perish. In like manner,
a bridle is designed to guide the horse in the right way ; but
the bridle which God will put in the jaws of the people,
shall not direct them aright, but shall make them err, and
lead them into destruction." Tliis latter image the Prophet
has applied to the same subject afterward, chap, xxxvii. 29.
" I will put my bridle in thy jaws,
And turn thee back by the way in which thou earnest."
And as to the former it is to be observed, that the van of
the ancients was a large instrument, somewhat like a shovel,
with a long handle, wi(h which they tossed the corn mixed
with the chaff and chopped straw into the air that the wind
might separate them. See Hammond on Matt. iii. 12.
31. He, thai ivas — ] "Post •nii'N forte excidit Tii/x:"
Secker.
32. — the rod of correction^ For rnoio, the gronmled
staff, of w'hich no one yet has been able to make any tolera-
ble sense, Le Clerc conjectured rnojb, of correction ; see
Prov. xxii. 15. ; and so it is in two IVfeS (one of them an-
cient), and seems to be so in the Bodley MS. Syr. has
rnn;'!!^!, virga domans, vel subjectionis.
Ibid. — against iliem] For n3, fifty-two MSS and five
editions read D3.
Ibid. — icitli tahrets and harps] With every demonstra-
tion of joy and thanksgiving for the destruction of the enemy
in so wonderful a manner: with hymns of praise, accom-
panied wMth musical instruments. See ver. 29.
33. I^\r Tophct is ordained — ] Tophet is a valley very
pear to .lerusalem, to the south-cast, called also the valley of
Hinnom, or Gehenna ; wIkmc (he Canaanilos, and afterwards
the Israelites, sacrificed their children, by making them pass
GttAl'. XXX. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 287
through the fire — that is, by burning them in the fire — to
Moloch. Jt is therefore used for a place of punishment by
fire ; and by our blessed Saviour in the gospel for hell-fire ;
as the Jews themselves had applied it. See Chald. on Isa.
xxxiii. 14. where d'?;; npio is rendered "the Gehenna of
everlasting fire." Here the place where the Assyrian army
was destroyed is called Tophet by a metonymy; for the As- jC
Syrian army was destroyed probably at a greater distance
from Jerusalem, and ([uite on the opposite side of it : for
Nob is mentioned as the last station from which the king
of Assyria should threaten Jerusalem, chap. x. 32. where
the Prophet seems to have given a very exact chorographical
description of his march in order to attack the city.
CHAPTER XXXI.
1. Who trust— \ For ^^v, 1"% twenty MSS, and LXX
and Vulg. read '?;>, without the conjunction.
2. — his word\ nm, singular, without •> ■ MS and LXX,
and Targ. Hieros.
4. Like as the lion — ] This comparison is exactly in
the spirit and manner, and very nearly approaching to the ex-
pression of Homer : —
Sui/ y.vo-t V.CU OH^itTori (pvXdTirovTXi; tts^i imjXx,
Of poc. r' dTrn^Tjroi; /^sf^ove ^-oiSf^oio oiecrStui'
AAA oy x^ jj yi^TTci^i |M,£rstA;M.£V9?, jjE y,xi cf.vro^
Y.viMr' ev Tr^urota-i S-or,i tUTro ^si^a<; cix.i)\ri. Iliad, xii. 299,
As the bold lion, mountain-bred, now long
Famish'd, with courage and with hunger stung.
Attempts the thronged fold : him nought appals,
Though dogs and armed shepherds stand in guard
Collected; he nathless undaunted springs
O'er the high fence, and rends the trembling prey;
Or rushing onward in his breast receives
The well-aimed spear.
Of metaphors, allegories, and comparisons of the Hebrew
poets, in which the divine nature and attributes are repre-
sented under images taken from brutes and other low ob-
288 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXI.
jects ; of their effect, their sublimity, and the cause of it ; see
De S. Pees. Hebr. Pralect. xvi. sub fin.
5. Icap'in;^ forward — ] The generahty of interpreters
observe, in this place, an allusion to the deliverance which
God vouchsafed to his people, when he destroyed the first-
born of the Egyptians, and exempted those of the Israelites
sojourning among them by a peculiar interposition. The
same word is made use of here which is used upon that oc-
casion, and which gave the name to the feast which was
instituted in conunemoration of that deliverance ; nD3. But
the difiiculty is, to reconcile the commonly received meaning
of that word with the circumstances of the similitude here
used to illustrate the deliverance represented as parallel to the
deliverance in Egypt.
" As the mother-birds hovering over their young;
So shall Jehovah God of Hosts protect Jerusalem,
Protecting and delivering, passing over, and rescuing her."
This difiiculty is, 1 think, well solved by Vitringa ; whose
remaik is the more worthy of observation, as it leads
to the true meaning of an important word, vvhich hitherto
seems greatly to have been misunderstood ; though Vitringa
himself, as it appears to me, has not exactly enough defined
the precise meaning of it. He says, " riDD signifies to
cover, to protect by covering ; <ry,s7ircc(r&) vy^cm, LXX ; Jeitovah
ohteget ostium :" whereas it means that particular action
or motion, by which God at that time placed himself in
such a situation as to protect the house of the Israelite
against the destroying angel, — to spring forward, to throw
one's self in the way, in order to cover and protect. Coc-
ceius comes nearer to the true meaning than Vitringa, by
rendering it s^radamfacere. to march, to step forward : Lexi-
con in v. The common meaning of the word nu3 upon
other occasions is to halt, to be lame, to leap as in a rude
manner of dancing, (as the prophets of Baal did, 1 Kings
xviii. 26.); all which agrees very well together ; for the motion
of a lame person is a perpetual springing forward, by throw-
ing himself from the weaker upon the stronger leg. The
conunon notion of God's passing over t!ie houses of the Is-
raelites is, that in going through the land of I'gypt to smite
the first-born, seeing the blood on the door of the houses of
the Israelites, he passed over, or skipped, those houses, and
forbore to smite them. But that this is not the true notion
of the thing, will be plain from considering the words of the
CHAP. XXXI. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 289
sacred historian ; where he describes very explicitly the ac-
tion : " For Jehovah will pass through, to smite the Egyp-
tians ; and Vvhen he seeth the blood on the lintels and on
the two side-posts, Jehovah will spring forward over (or be-
fore) the door, nnsn hj? nirr no2), and will not suffer the de-
stroyer to come into j'our houses to smite you;'' Exod. xii.
23. Here are manifestly two distinct agents, with which the
nolion of passiiig over is not consistent; for that supposes
but one agent : The two agents are the destroying angel
passing through to smite everj'^ house ; and Jehovah the
protector, keeping pace with him ; and who, seeing the door
of the Israelite marked with the blood, the token prescribed,
leaps forward, throws himself with a sudden motion in the
way, opposes the destroying angel ; and covers and protects that
house against the destroying angel, nor suffers him to smite
it. In this wa)' of considering the action, the beautiful simil-
itude of the bird protecting her young, answers exactly to
the application by the allusion to the deliverance in Egypt :
As the mother-bird spreads her wings to cover her young,
throws herself before them, and opposes the rapacious bird
that assaults them ; so shall Jehovah protect, as with a
shield, Jerusalem from the enemy, protecting and delivering,
springing forward and rescuing her ; vTrs^Saivm, as tire
three other Greek interpreters, Aquila, Symmachus, and The-
odotibn, render it: LXX, Tri^iTromrcrcii ; instead of which, MS
Puchom. has 5rff;Cs!(r£Tcs?, circmnevndo jnotcget^ which I
think is the true reading. Homer (II. viii. 331.) expresses
the very same image by this word : —
" But Ajax his broad shield display'd,
And screen'd his brother with a mighty shade." Pope.
'O5 X^ti5-;jv ufAjpt^i^riiicii;. II. i. 37.
"Which the Scholiast explains by Tri^iSe^'^KXi, vTre^i^ocx^i^.
6. ye have so deeply — ] AH the ancient versions read
lp'D;'n, in the second person.
7. The sin^ which their Oion hands have made] The con-
struction of the word ninr\, si7i, in this place is not easy.
The LXX have omitted it : MSS Pachom.and i. D. ii. and
Cod. Marchal. in margine, supply the omission by the woid
ufMi^riavy or cifMc^rrifMc, said to be from Aquila's version ;
which I have follow^ed. The learned professor Schroeder,
Institut. Ling. Hebr. p. 298. makes it to be in rcgimiiie with
30
290 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXSI.
DD'T, as an epithet ; your sinful hands. The LXX render
the pronoun in tlie third person, «< x^'?^i uvtuv, and an an-
cient MS has, agreeably to that rendering, nnS for ddS;
which word they have hkewisc omitted, as not necessary to
complete the sense.
CHAPTER XXXII.
1. And princes — ] Dntyi, without ^7 ; so the ancient
versions. An ancient MS has mti'i, and his princes.
2. As the shadoio of a great roc/c] The shadow of a
great projecting rock is the most refreshing that is possible in
a hot country ; not only as most pe fectly excluding the rays
of the sun, but also having in itself a natural coolness, which
it reiiects and communicates to every thing about it.
" Speluncasque tegant, et saxea procubet umbra."
Virg. Georg. iii. 145.
" Let the cool cave and shady rock protect them."
Etth x.e<pci.X>iv Kcif yovvarcc 'Zii^toi ei^ii,
E(« vir^ciin re o-k;?;, koci B(CA(vo? o'vaj. Hesiod. ii. 206.
When Sirius rages, and thine aching head,
Parch'd skin, and feeble knees, refreshment need;
Then to the rock's projected shade retire,
With Biblin wine recruit thy wasted powers.
3. And him the eyes^ For n"?! Le Clerc reads ibi ; of
which mistake the Masoretes acknowledge there are fifteen
instances ; and many mor • are reckoned by others. The re-
moval of the negative restores to the verb its true and usual
sense.
6. The fool ivill still utter folly] A sort of proverbial
saying ; which Euripides (Baccha>, 369.) has expressed in
the very same n)anner and words: ^uu^ayx^ i^aooi; Pi^ya. Of
this kind of simple and unadorned proverb or parable, sec
De S. Poes. Hebr. Prtclect. xxiv.
Ibid. Against Jehovah] For '7.V, two MSS read V?
more properly.
7. As for the niggard his instruments — ] His machi-
nations, his designs. The paronomasia, which tiie Prophet
fre(iuently deals in, suggested this expression : vbD "Sdi. The
first word is expressed with some variety in the MSS : seven
MSS read 'Vdi, one ^di, another »'7i3i.
CHAP. XXXII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 291
Ibid, ^nd to defeat the assertions — ] A Avoid seeins to
have been lost here, and two others to have sutTered a small
alteration ; which has made the sentence very obscure. The
LXX have happily retained the rendering of the lost word,
and restored the sentence in all its paits : ««< ^ixirKiSxo-xt Xa-
yovi ruTTeivav bv fcpicref t33ti/a3 p'3X nDT iDPi'?!. They frequent-
ly render the verb iDn by hcc^y-e^carxi. A MS reads im"7i ;
which gives antliorily for the preposition ^ necessary to the
sense ; and LXX, Syr. Chald. read DStyo:].
8. And he by his generous — ] " Of the four sorts of per-
sons mentioneJ ver. .5. three are described, ver. 6, 7, and 8.
but not the fourth:" Secker. Perhaps for ><ini we ought
to read }^wy.
11. Gird the sackcloth — ] pty, sackcloth, a word neces-
sary to the sense, is here lost, but preserved by LXX, MSS
Alex, and Pachom. and i. D. ii. and Edit. Aid. and Comp.
and Arab, and Syr.
Ibid. Tremble — be disquieted, — strip ye — ] nu"), nDiy£3,
«fcc. These are infinitives, with a paragogic n, according
tn S/'iiiilijftna Iiisliiiit. Li'*"-. Hchr. n. A'S'^. and are to be
taken in an imperative sense.
12. Mourn ye for the pleasant field] The LXX, Syr.
and Vulg. read itDD, mourn ye, imperative : twelve MSS
(five ancient), two editions, LXX, Aquilla, Sym. Theod.
Syr. Vulg. all read r\iw, field ; not hk^, breasts.
13. — And the brier shall come up] All the ancient ver-
sions read TOiyi, with the conjunction. And an ancient
MS has n T\%'r\, which seems to be right ; or rather n^:
and there is a rasure in the place of 13 in another ancient MS.
Ibid. Yea over all — ] For 'd, the ancient versions, ex-
cept Vulg. seem to have read i. '2 may perhaps be a mis-
take for 13 or n3 above-mentioned. It is not necessary in
this place.
13 — 18. Over the land of my people — ] This description
of impending distress belongs to other times than that of
Senachcrib's invasion, from which they were so soon de-
livered. It must at least extend to the ruin of the country
and city by the Chaldeans. And the promise of blessings,
which follows, was not fulfilled under the Mosaic dispensa-
tion; they belong to the kingdom of Messiah. Compare
ver. 15. with chap xxix. 17. and see the note there.
14. Ophel] It was a part of Mount Sion, rising higher
than the rest ; at the eastern extremity, near to the temple,
292 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXI I.
a little to the south of it ; called by Micnh, iv. 8. " Ophel of
the daughter of Sion." It was naturally strong by its situa-
tion, and had a wall of its own, by which it was separated
from the rest of Sion.
15. A7id the fruitful field] Vron^m, fifteen MSS (six
ancient), and two editions ; which seems to make the noun
an appellative.
10. The city shall he laid level loitli the plain] For
rhD'i;^), Syr. reads n'^Di^joi. The city, probably INineveh,
or Babylon : but this verse is very obscure. " Saltus ; As-
syrioruni re^nuni : civitas : niagnifica Assyrioruni castra :"
EphrBem. Syr. in loc. For ni^i, a MS has nvi ; and so
conjectured Archbishop Seeker, referring to Zech. xi. 2
20. 7cho sow your seed in every valery place] Sir John
Chavdin's note on this place is : " This exactl}^ answers the
manner of planting' rice; for they sow it upon the water:
and before sowing, while the earth is covered with water,
they cause the ground to be trodden by oxen, horses, and
asses, who go mid-leg deep ; and this is the way of prepar-
ing the gioutju luf sowis.'g. As they sov/ the rice on the
water, they transplant it in the water ; Harmer's Observ-
i. p. 280. " Rice is the food of two-thirds of mankind f'
Dr. Arbuthnot. " It is cultivated in most of the eastern
countries:'' Miller. "It is good for all, and at all times:"
Sir J. Chardin, ibid. " La ris, qui est leur principal aliment
et leur fioment (?'. e. des Siamois), n'est jamais assez arrose ;
il croit au milieu de I'eau, et les campagnes ou on le cultive
resseniblent ])lut6t a de marels que non pas a des terres
(|u'on laboure avec la charue. Lc ris a bien cette force, que
(luoy qu'il y ait six ou sept pieds d'eau sur lui, il pousse
toujours sa tige au dessus, et le tuyau qui le porte s'eleve et
croit a proportion de la hauteur de I'eau qui noye son
champ :" Voyage de TEvequc de Beryte, p. 144. ; Paris,
1066.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The plan of the prophecy, continued in this chapter, and
which is manifestly distinct from the foregoing, is peculiarly
elegant. To set it iu a proper light, it will be necessary to
mark the transitions from one part of it to another.
In ver. 1. the Prophet addresses himself to Senacherib,
briefly, but strongly and elegantly, expressing the injustice
CHAP, XXXIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 293
of his ambitious designs, and the sudden disappointment of
them.
Ver. 2. the Jews are introduced offering up their earnest
suppUcations to God in their present distressful condition;
with expiessions of their trust and confidence in his pro-
tection.
Ver. 3. and 4. the Prophet, in tlie name of God, or ra-
ther God himself, is introduced addressing himself to Sena-
cherib, and threatening him, that notwithstanding the terror
which he had occasioned in the invaded countries, yet he
should fall, and become an easy prey to those whom he had
intended to subdue.
Ver. 5. and G. a chorus of .Tews is introduced, acknow-
ledging the mercy and power of God, who had undertaken
to protect them ; extoUing it with direct opposition to the
boasted power of their enemies ; and celebrating the wis-
dom and piety of their king Hezekiah. who had placed his
confidence in the favom- of God.
Then follows, ver. 7 — 9. a description of the distress and
despair of the Jews, upon the king of Assyria's marching
against Jerusalem, and sending his summons to them to
sin-render, after the treaty he had made with Hezekiah on
the conditions of his paying, as he actually did pay to him,
three hundred talents of silver, and thirty talents of gold ;
2 Kings xviii. 14 — 16.
Ver. 10. God himself is again introduced, declaring that
he will interpose in this critical situation of affairs, and dis-
appoint the vain designs of the enemies of his people, by-
discomfiting and utterly consuming them.
Then follows, ver. 11 — 22. still in the person of God,
(which however falls at last into that of tlie Prophet), a
description of the dreadful apprehensions of the wicked in
those times of distress and iinminent danger ; finely con-
trasted with the confidence and security of the righteous,
and their trust in the promises of God, that he will be their
never-failing strength and protector.
The whole concludes, in the person of the Prophet, with
a description of the security of the Jews under the protection
of God, and of the wretched state of Senacherib and his army,
wholly discomfited, and exposed to be plundered even by the
weakest of the enemy.
Much of the beauty of this passage depends on the expla-
nation above given of ver. 3. and 4. as addressed by the
30*
294 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP, XXXIII.
Prophet, or by God himself, to Senacherib ; not, as it is usually
taken, as addressed by the Jews to God, ver. 3. and then, ver.
4. as addressed to the Assyrians. To set this in a clear hght,
it may be of use to compare it with a passage of the Prophet
Joel : where, speaking of the destruction caused by the locusts,
lie sets in the same strong light of opposition, as Isaiah does
liere, the power of ihe enemy, and the power of Jehovah who
would destroy that enemy. Thus Isaiah, to Senacherib ;
" When thou didst raise thyself up, the nations were dispersed.
ver. 3.
" But now will I arise, saith Jehovah;
Now will I be exalted." ver. 10.
And thus Joel, ii. 20, 21.
" His stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall ascend;
Though he hath done great things.
Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice;
For Jehovah will do great things."
1. thou plunderer — ] See note on chap. xxi. 2.
Ibid. — wJien thou art weary — ] ""[n^JD, alibi non extat
in s. s. nisi f. Job. xv. 29. — simplicius est legere -jn^DD. Yid,
Capell. nee repugnat Vitringa. Vid. Dan. ix. 24. rb^j
D"nn: " Secker.
2. our strength — ] For d;>ii, Syr. Chald. Vulg. read
l3;nT, in the first peison of the pronoun, not the third : the
edition of Felix Pratensis has li'n^'iT in the margin.
3. From thy terrible voice — ] For |nn, LXX and Syr.
read yox ; whom I follow\
6. — thy treasure — ] o^Tsa-xv^oio-ov^^ym. He had in his
copy pi\x, not ni'x.
7. — the mighty men raise a grievous cry] Three MSS
read C'btox; that is, lions of God, or strong lions : so they
called valiant men, heroes ; which appellation the Arabians
and Persians still use. See Bochart. Hieroz. Part I. lib. iii.
cap. 1. " Mahomet ayant reconnu Hamzeh son onclc pour
liommc de courage et de valeur, lui donne le titre ou surnoni
d" Assad Allah, qui signifie, le Lion de Dieu : " DTIcrbe-
lol, p. 427. And for nxn? Syr. and Chald. read nDp:
whom I follow. Chald. Syr. Aquila, Sym. and Theod.
read arh nxix, or nxr ; with what meaning, is not
clear.
9. — are stripped — ] LXX, ?>un^cc erar they read m;'Ji.
11. And my spirit — ] "For Djnn, read nj ^nn:"
CHAP. XXXIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 295
Secker. Which reading is confirmed by Chald. where
nD'o, my word, answers to 'mi, my spirit.
15. — the proposal of bloodshed] A MS reads D'm3.
18. Where is he that numbered the toioers ?] That is,
the commander of the enemy's forces, who surveyed the
fortifications of the city, and took an account of the height,
strength, and situation of the walls and towers, that he might
know where to make the assault with the greatest advan-
tage ; as Capaneus before Thebes is represented in a pas-
sage of the Phoenissffi of Euripides, which Grotius has ap-
plied as an illustration of this place :
Uv^yav^ ccvaire Kxt y.ctra fiiy^tj f^sr^aiv. ver. 187.
20. Thou shalf see — ] For nin, read ninn wnth the Chaldee :
Houbigant.
21. But the glorious name of Jehovah — ] I take Djy
for a noun, with LXX and Syr. : see Psal. xx. 1. Prov. xviii.
10.
23. Thy mast — ] For DJin, their mast, Syr. reads "['Jin,
LXX and Vul. "jjiri, o i^oc, tov iy.xm^^ thy mast is fallen aside:
LXX, they seem to have read nuj,or (njs) iJin; or rather x'?
p, is not firm, the negative having been omitted in the pres-
ent text by mistake. However, I have followed their sense,
which seems very probable ; as the present reading is to me
extremely obscure.
24. Neither shall the inhabitant say — } This verse is some-
what obscure : the meaning of it seems to be, that the army
of Senacherib shall by the stroke of God be reduced to so
shattered and so weak a condition, that the Jews shall fall
upon the remains of them, and plunder them without resis-
tance : that the most infirm and disabled of the people of Je-
rusalem shall come in for their share of the spoil ; the lame
shall seize the prey ; even the sick and the diseased shall
throw aside their infirmities, and recover strength enough to
hasten to the general plunder.
The last line of the verse is parallel to the first, and ex-
presses the same sense in other words. Sickness being con-
sidered as a visitation from God, and a punishment of sin ;
the forgiveness of sin is equivalent to the removal of a disease.
Thus the Psalmist;
"Who forgiveth all thy sin;
And healeth all thine infirmities." Psal. ciii. 3.
296 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXIII.
Where the latter line only varies the expression of the for-
mer. And our blessed Saviour reasons with the Jews on the
same principle : " Whether is it easier to say to the sick
of the palsy, Thy sins are forgiven thee ; or to say, Arise,
and take up thy bed, and walk ?" Mark ii. 9. See also
Matt. viii. 17. Isa. liii. 4. " Q,ui locus Isaiae, 1 Pet. ii,
24. refertur ad remissionem peccatorum : hie vero ad sana-
tioneni morborum, quia ejusdem poteniise et bonitatis est
utrumque preestare ; et, quia peccatis remissis, et morbi, qui
fructus sunt peccatorum, pelluntur :" Wetstein on Matt. viii.
17.
That this prophecy was exactly fulfilled, I think we may
gather from the history of this great event given by the
Propliet himself. It is plain, that Hezekiah, by his treaty
with Senacherib, by which he agreed to pay him three hun-
dred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold, had stripped
himself of his whole treasure : he not only gave him all the
silver and gold that was in his own treasury, and in that of
the temple, but was even forced to cut off the gold from the
doors of the temple and from the pillafs, with which he had
himself overlaid them, to satisfy the demands of the king of
Assyria : but after the destruction of the Assyrian army we
find, that he " had exceeding much riches, and that he made
himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious
stones," (fcc; 2 Chron. xxxii. 27. He was so rich, tbat out
of pride and vanity he displayed his wealth to the ambassadors
from Babylon. This cannot be otherwise accounted for, than
by the prodigious spoil that was taken on the destruction of
the Assyrian army.
CHAPTERS XXXIV. & XXXY.
These two chapters make one distinct prophecy ; an
entire, regular, and beautiful poem, consisting of two parts :
the first containing a denunciation of Divine vengeance
against the enemies of the people or church of God ; the
second describing the nourishing slate of the church of God,
consecjuent upon the execution of those judgments. The
event foretold is represented as of the highest importance,
and of universal concern : all nations are called upon to
attend to the declaration of it ; and the wrath of God is
denounced against all the nations ; that is, all those that
CHAP. XXXIV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 297
had provoked to anger the defender of the cause of Sion.
Among those, Edom is particularly specified. The prin-
cipal provocation of Edom was their insulting the Jews in
their distress, and joining against thein with their enemies
the Chaldeans: see Amos i. 11. Ezek. xxv. 12. xxxv. 15.
Psal. cxxxvii. 7. Accordingly the Edomites were, toge-
ther with the rest of the neighbouring nations, ravaged and
iaid waste by Nebuchadnezzar : see Jer. xxv. 15. — 26 Mai.
i. 3, 4. ; and see Marshani. Can. Chron. Seec. xviii. who calls
this the age of the destruction of cities. The general de-
vastation spread through all these countries by Nebuchad-
nezzar, may be the event which the Prophet has primarily
in view in the xxxivth chapter ; but this event, as far as we
have any account of it in history, seem by no means to
come up to the terms of the prophecy, or to justify so high-
wrought and so terrible a description. And it is not easy
to discover what connexion the extremely flourishing state
of the church or people of God, described in the next chap-
ter, could have with those events, and how the former could
he ihe coii-seqiience ol the iaiipr, as it !« there repi'esGnteu
to be. By a figure very conmion in the prophetical writ-
ings, any city, or people, remarkably distinguished as ene-
mies of the people and kingdom of God, is put for those
enemies in general. This seems here to be the case with
Edom and Botsra. It seems therefore reasonable to sup-
pose, with many learned expositors, th'it this prophecy has
a further view to events still future ; to some great revo-
lutions to be effected in later times, antecedent to that more
perfect stale of the kingdom of God upon earth, and serv-
ing to introduce it, which the Holy Scriptures warrant us
to expect.
That the xxxvth chapter has a view beyond any thing
that could be the immediate consequence of those events, is
plain from every part, especially from the middle of it, ver.
5, 6. ; where the miraculous works wrought by our blessed
Saviour are so clearly specitied, that we cannot avoid mak-
ing the application. And our Saviour himself has moreover
plainly referred to this very passage as speaking of him and
his works : Matt. xi. 4, 5. He bids the disciples of John
to go and report to their master the things which they
heard and saw ; that the blind received their sight, the lame
walked, and the deaf heard ; and leaves it to him to draw
the conclusion in answer to his inquiry, whether he who
298 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP, XXXIV.
performed the very works which the Prophets foretold
should be performed by the Messiah, was not indeed the
Messiah himself? And where are these works so distinctly
marked by any of the Prophets as in this j)lace ; and how
could they be marked more distinctly ? To these the strictly
literal interpretation of the Prophet's words directs us.
According to the allegorical interpretation they may have
a further view: This part of the prophecy may run parallel
with the former, anil relate to the future advent of Christ;
to the conversion of the Jews, and their restitution to their
land ; to the extension and purification of the Christian
faith ; — events predicted in the Holy Scriptures, as preparatory-
to it.
1. And attend unto me — ] A MS adds in this line the
word •'?yS, tinio me, after u*:2iO; which seems to be genuine.
4. And all the host of heaven — ] See note on chap,
xxiv. 21. and De S. Poesi Hebra?orum Prael. ix.
5. For my sword is made bare in the heaven] There
seems to be some impropriety in this, according to the pre-
sent rsadincT, " niy sword is maoe cirunfrcn, or is utttncM, Tn
the heavens ;" which forestalls, and. expresses not in its pro-
per place, what belongs to the next verse : for the sword of
Jehovah was not to be bathed or glutted with blood in the
heavens, but in Cotsra and the land of Edom. In the
lieavens it was only prepared for slaughter. To renjedy
this, Archbishop Seeker proposes to read, for U'r2'^2, 0:^12;
referring to Jer. xlvi. 10. But even this is premature, and
not in its proper place. The Chaldee, for nnn, has ''7:nn,
shall be revealed, or disclosed : perhaps he read nxin, or
nnx-i]. Whatever reading, dilterent I presume from the
present, he might find in his copy, I follow the sense which
he has given of it.
6. For Jehovah eelehrateth a sacrifice] Ezekiel has
manifestly imitated this place of Isaiah : he hath set forth
the great leaders and princes of the adverse powers under
the same emblems of goats, bulls, rams, fallings, &c. and
has added to the lx)ldness of tlie imagery, by introducing
God as summoning all the fowls of the air, and all the beasts
of the field, and bidding them to the fi^ast which he has
prepared for tl)em by the slaughter of the enemies of his
people : —
" And thou, son of man,
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah :
CHAP. XXXIV. NOTES ON ISAIAH, 299
Say to the bird of every wing,
And to every beast of the field,
Assemble yourselves, and come j
Gather together from every side,
To the sacrifice which I make for you,
A great slaughter on the mountains of Israel.
And ye shall eat flesh and drink blood :
The flesh of the mighty shall ye eat.
And the blood of the lofty of the earth shall ye drinkj
Of rams, of lambs, and of goats,
Of bullocks, all of them the fat ones of Basan.
And ye shall eat fat, till ye are cloyed,
And drink blood till ye are drunken;
Of my slaughter, which I have slain for you."
Ezek. xxxix, 16. 17,
The siiblime author of the Revelation (chap. xix. 17, 18.)
has taken this image from Ezekiel, rather than from Isaiah.
7. — with their blood] coio: so an ancient MS, Syr. and
Chald.
8. — the defender of tlte caiise of iSion] Asfrom*n,|ny
a judge; so from nn, j'-i, an advocate, or defender: Judici
Sionis, Syr.
11. — over her scorched plains'^ The word ri'in, joined
to the 12th verse, embarrasses it, and makes it inexplicable.
At least I do not know that any one has yet made out the
construction, or given any tolerable explication of it. 1 join
it to tlie 11th verse, and supply a letter or two, which seem
to have been lost. Fifteen MSS (five ancient), and two
editions, read nmn. The first printed edition of 1486, I
think nearer to the truth, nnn iin. I read nninD, or nmn
V : see Jer. xvii. 6. A MS has nnn, and the Syriac
reads nnn, gaudium, joining it to the two preceding
words ; ^\hicli he likevv ise reads differently, but without
improving the sense. However, his authority is clear for
dividing the verses, as they are here divided, 1 read D^ as
a noun. They shall boast, ixnp' i see Prov. xx. 6.
13. And in her -palaces sf/all spring up — ] iV>1
n'nUD"rN3; so read all the ancient versions.
15. Every one her mate] A MS adds '?« after nti'N,
which seems necessary to the construction ; and so Syr. and
Vulg. Another MS adds in the same place nx, which is
equivalent.
16. For the mouth of Jehovah] For Kin, five MSS
(three ancient) read mn', and another is so ccrrected: so
300 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXIV.
likewise LXX. Two editions have Dii*, and so LXX and
Vulg. ; and a MS has Di'Dp, wilh the masculine pionoun
instead of the feminine : and so in the next verses it is Dn'7,
instead of [nb, in fourteen MSS, six of them ancient.
CHAPTER XXXV.
1. — shall he glad.^ nw^"*: In a MS the d seems to
have been added ; and tm is upon a rasiue in another.
None of the ancient versions acknowledge it : it seems to
have been a mistake arising from the next word's beginning
with the same letter. Sixteen MSS have DVki'iS'", and five
MSS DkJ'ii'.
2. The ivell-ivaicred plain of Jordan.'] For j:ni, the
LXX read py ; tx s^riu-x rov lap^xvov. Four I\ISS read rhi ;
see Joshua xv. 19. irrigua Jordani ; Houbigant : m'J, ripa
Jordani ; Kennicott. See De S. Poe^i Hebr. Pnelect. xx.
note,
Ibid. For rh, to it, nine MSS read -p, to thee. See ibid.
7. — the gloiving sand] aiB?* This word is Arabic as
^vell as Hebrew, expressing in both languages the same
thing ; the glowing sandy plain, which in the hot countries
at a distance has the appearance of water, it occurs in the
Koran, chap. xxiv. " But as to the unbelievers, their works
are like a vapour in a plain ; which the thirsty traveller
thinketli to be water, until, when he cometh thereto, he
lindeth it to be nothing." Mr. Sale's note on this place is :
— "The Arabic word serah signifies that false appearance
which in the eastern countries is often seen in sandy plains
about noon, resembhng a large lake of water in motion, and
is occasioned by the reverberation of the sunbeams : [• by
the quivering undulating motion of that quick succession of
vapom-s and exhalations, which are extracted by the power-
fid influence of the sun ; ' Shaw, Trav. p. 378.] It some-
times tempts thirsty travellers out of their way, but deceives
theai, when they come near, either going forward, (for it
ahvays appears at the same distance), or quite vanishes."
Q. Curtius has mentioned it: — "Arenas vapor fc^^tivi solis
accendit; — camporunuiue non alia, quam vasti et profundi
a(|uoris species est ; " lib. vii. cap. 5. Dr. Hyde gives us the
precise meaning and derivation of the word : — " Dictum
iiomen [Barca] npi::ri, i-plcndorem scu splcndentem regie-
CHAP. XXXV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 301
nem notat ; cum ea regie radiis solaribus tam copiose collus-
tretur, ut reflexnm ab aienis lumen adeo intense fulgens, a
longinquo spectantibus, ad instar corporis Solaris, aquarum
speciem referat ; et liinc arenarum splendor et radiatio (ex
lingua Persica petito nomine) dicitur serab, i. e. aquai super-
ficies, seu superficialis aquaium species :" Annot, in Peritsol.
cap. 2.
Ibid. — shall spring forth — ] The n, in nwi, seems to
have been at first d in MS Bodl, ; whence Dr. Kennicott
concludes it should he D»wi. But instead of this word,
Syr. Vulg. and Chald. read some word signifying to grow,
spring up, or abound ; perhaps nxia, or ^■:i^3 ; or |"i3
Tifnn, as Houbigant reads.
8. And a highivay] The w^ord pm is by mistake added
to the first member of the sentence from the beginning of
the following member : sixteen MSS (seven ancient) have
it but once ; so likewise Syr.
Ibid, — err therei?i] A MS adds 13, which seems neces-
sary to the sense : and so Vulg. per earn.
Ibid. But He shall be with them walking — ] That is,
God ; see ver. 4. " Who shall dwell among them, and set
them an example, that they should follow his steps." Our
old English versions translated the place to this purpose : our
last translators were misled by the authority of the Jews, who
have absurdly made a division of the verses in the midst of
the sentence, thereby destroying the construction and the
sense.
9, Neither shall he be found there] Three MSS read
kSi, adding the conjunction ; and so Ukewise LXX and
Vulg. And four MSS (one ancient) read X};n', the verb,
as it certainly ought to be, in the masculine form.
For further remarks on the two foregoing chapters, see
De S. Poesi Hebr. Prselect. xx.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
The history of the invasion of Senacherib, and of the
miraculous destruction of his army, which makes the subject
of so many of Isaiah's prophecies, is very properly inserted
here, as affording tlie best light to many parts of those pro-
phecies ; and as almost necessary to introduce the prophecy in
the xxxviilh chapter, being the answer of God to Hezekiah's
31
302 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXVI.
prayer, which could not be properly understood without it.
We find the same narrative in the second book of Kings,
- chapters xviii. xix. xx. ; and these chapters of Isaiah, xxxvi.
xxxvii. xxxviii. xxxix. for much the most part, (the account
of the sickness of Hezekiah only excepted), are but a differ-
ent copy of that narration. The difference of the two copies
is little more than what has manifestly arisen from the mis-
takes of transcribers : they mutually correct each other, and
most of the mistakes may be perfectly rectified by a collation
of the- two copies, with the assistance of the ancient versions.
Some few sentences, or members of sentences, are omitted
in this copy of Isaiah, which are found in the other copy in
the book of Kings. Whether these omissions were made by
design or by mistake, may be doubted : these therefore I
have not inserted in the translation ; I shall only report them
in the notes.
3. Then came out unto him] Before these words, the
other copy, 2 Kings xviii. 18. adds 'pr^'n ^x ixip'i, " and
they demanded audience of the king."
5. Thou hast said] Fourteen MSS (three ancient) have
it in the second person, niDN; and so the other copy, 2 Kings
xviii. 20.
6. — ifi Egyjyl\ MS Bodl. adds -jbo, the Icing of Egypt :
and so perhaps Chald. might read.
7. But if ye say] Two ancient MSS have nnxn in the
plural number : so likewise LXX, Chald. and the other
copy, 2 Kings xviii. 22.
Ibid, only before this altar — ] See 2 Chron. xxxii. 12.
12. destined to eat their own dung] b:iiih, " that they
may eat," as our translation literally renders it. But Syr.
reads hDiiD, " that they may not eat," perhaps rightly ; and
afterwards mnii/Di, or mnji-'i, to the same purpose.
17. and of vineyards] The other copy, 2 Kings xviii.
32. adds here, " a land of oil-olive, and of honey ; that ye
may live, and not die ; and hearken not unto Hezekiah,
when he seduceth you."
19. — of ^cpharvaim — ] The other copy, 2 Kings xviii.
34. adds of '• Henah and Ivah."
Ibid. Jluvc they delivered] 'di, the copulative is not ex-
pressed here by LXX, Syr. Yulg. and three MSS ; nor is it
in the other copy : Ibid. Houbigant reads 'DH, with the
interrogative particle: a probable conjecture, which the ancient
versions, above quoted, seem to favour.
CHAP, XXXVI. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 303
21. But the people held their peace'] The word D>'n, the
people, is supplied from the other copy ; and is authorized
by a MS, which inserts it after inx.
CHAPTER XXXVIl.
7. I will infuse a spirit into him] "nn n pnj never
signifies any thing but putting a spirit into a person ; this
was TTuvf^u, htXica: " Secker.
9. he sent messengers again] The word yiiy^^^, (and lie
heard^, w^hich occurs the second time in this verse, is re-
peated by mistake from the beginning of the verse. It is
omitted in an ancient MS. It is a mere tautology, arid em-
barrasses the sense. The true reading, instead of it, is ia^'i,
which the LXX read in this place ctTnT^i-^e, and which is
preserved in the other copy, 2 Kings xix. 9. "He returned
and sent " — that is, according to the Hebrew idiom, "he sent
again.-'
14. and read them] DX'^p'i, so MS Bodl. in this place ;
and so the other copy ; instead of inxipn, and read it.
Ibid. — a7id spread them] intyiD'i; in is upon a rasure
in a MS ; which probably was at first d. The same mistake
as in the foregoing note.
15. — before Jehovah] That is, in the sanctuary. For
ba, Syr. Chald. and the other copy, 2 Kings xix. 15. read
18. — the nations — ] m:^ixn, the lands : instead of this
word, which destroys the sense, ten MSS (one ancient) have
here D'U, nations ; which is undoubtedly the true reading,
being preserved also in the other copy, 2 Kings xix. 17.
Another MS suggests another method of rectifying the sense
in this place, by reading dd'^d, their king, instead of D^fnx,
their land ; but it ought to be nnoVo, " all the countries
and their kings."
20. Save us, we beseech thee — ] The supplicating par-
ticle xj is supplied here from eighteen MSS (three ancient),
and from the other copy.
Ibid. — that thou Jehovah art the only God^ The
word D^nbx, God, is lost here in the Hebrew text, but pre-
served in the other copy, 2 Kings xix. 19. Syr. and LXX
seem here to have had in their copies D'nbx, instead of nin'.
21. Then Isaiah sent unto Hezekiah] Syr. and LXX
understand and render the verb passively, was sent.
304 KOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXVII,
Ibid. — I have heard] 'n;'rDiy: this Avord, necessary to the
sense, is lost in this place out of the Hebrew text. A MS
has it written above the line in a later hand. LXX and
Syr. found it in their copies ; and it is preserved in the other
copy, 2 Kings xix. 20.
23. — against the Holy One of Israel] For ha, the other
copy has bj,', rather more properly.
24. — Bt/ thy messengers — ] The text has y-yy; ; thy
servants: but the true reading seems to be yDJ*'?::, thy mes-
sengers, as in the other copy, 2 Kings xix. 23. ; and as LXX
and Syr. found it in their copies in this place.
Ibid. — his extrejjie retreats] The text has Dnn, the
highth ; which seems to have been taken by mistake from
the line but one above. A MS has here pbo, the lodge, or
retreat ; which is the word in the other copy, 2 Kings xix.
23. ; and I think is the true reading.
25. — strange scalers] The word d'i', strange, lost out
of the Hebrew text in this place, is supplied from the other
copy. A MS supplies the word d^di, many, instead of it.
Ibid, all the canals of fenced places] The principal cities
of Egypt, the scene of his late exploits, were chiefly defended
by deep moats, canals, or large lakes, made by labour and
art, with which they were surrounded. SeeHarmers Obscrv.
ii. p. 304. Claudian introduces Alaric boasting of his con-
quests in the same extravagant manner :
" Subsidere nostris
Sub pedibus montes; arescere vidimus anines. —
Fregi Alpcs, galeisque Padum victricibus hausi."
De Belle Gelic. 526.
26. warlike 7iations] D'i'j D'b:. It is not easy to give a
satisfactor}^ account of these two words; which have greatly
embarrassed all the interpreters, ancient and modern. For
D'Vj, I read D'U, as the LXX do in this place, ehtj. The
word D'i'J, Vulg. renders in this place compngnantiiim : in
the parallel place, 2 Kings xix. 25. pngnantium, and LXX,
f^rty^tf/Mt, fghting, icarlike. This rendering is as well autho-
rized as any other that I know of, and, with the reading of
LXX, perfectly clears up the construction.
27. corn blasted] nrDiiy. It does not appear that there
is any good authority for this word. The true reading seems
to be riDTki', as it is in four ]\ISS (two ancient), here, and in
the other copy.
29. Iioill ])2it my hook in thy nose] " Etfrccniini meum:
CHAP. XXXVII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 305
Jonathan voceni jno interpretatus est 0*3', i. e. annulum,
sive uncuin, eumque feneum, quern infigunt nadbus ca-
melae : eoque trahitur, quoniam ilia feris niotibus agitur : et
hoc est, quod discinius in Talmude ; et caniela cum annulo
naiium : scilicet, egreditur die Sabbathi :" Jarchi in 2 Reg.
xix. 28. " Ponam circulum in naribus tuis :" Ilieron. Just
as at this day they put a ring into the nose of the bear, the
buiralo, and other wild beasts, to lead them, and to govern
them when they are unruly.
35. And the angel — ] Before " the angel," the other
copy, 2 Kings xix. 35. adds, '•' it came to pa«s the same night,
that"
The Prophet Hosea has given a plain prediction of this
miraculous deliverance of the kingdom of Judah :
"• And to the house of Judah I will be tenderly merciful:
And I will save them by Jehovah their God.
And I will not save them by the bow;
Nor by sword, nor by battle;
By horses, nor by horsemen. Hosea i. 7.
CHAPTER XXXVni.
2. Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall] The fur-
niture of an eastern divan, or chamber either for the recep-
tion of company or for private use, consists chiefly of carpets
spread on the floor in the middle, and of sophas or couches
ranged on one or more sides of the room, on a part raised
somewhat above the floor. On these they repose themselves
in the day, and sleep at night. It is to be observed, that
the corner of the room is the place of honour. Dr Pococke,
when he was introduced to the Sheik of Furshout, found
him sitting in the corner of his room. He describes ano-
ther Arab Sheik, "as sitting in a corner of a large green
tent, pitched in the middle of an encampment of Arabs ;
and the Bey of Girge as placed on a sopha in a corner to
the right as one entered the room :" Harmer's Obs. ii. p. GO.
Lady Mary W. Montague, giving an account of a visit
which she made to the Kahya's lady at Adrianople, says,
" She ordered cushions to be given me, and took care to place
me in the corner, which is the place of honour :" Letter
xxxiii. The reason of this seems to be, that the person, so
placed, is distinguished, and in a manner separated from the
31*
306 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXVIH.
rest of tlie comi)any, and as it were guarded by the wall on
each side. We are to suppose He^^ekiah's couch placed iu the
same siLuation : in which, turning on cither side, he must
turn his face to the wall; by wiiicli he would withdraw him-
self from those who were attending upon him in his apart-
ment, in order to address his private prayer to God.
4, 5. The words in the translation included within crotchets
are supplied from the parallel place, 2 Kings xx. 4, 5. to
make the narration more perfect. 1 have also taken the
liberty, with Houbigant, of bringing forward the two last
verses of this chapter, and inserting tliem in their proper
places of the narration with the same mark. Kimchi's note
on these two verses is as follows : " This and the following
verse belong not to the writing ofHezekiah: and I see no
reason why they are written here after the writing ; for their
right place is above, a^ier A7id I loill 'protect this ciii/j ver. 6.
And so they stand in the book of Kings ;" 2 Kings xx, 7, 8.
The narration of this chapter seems to be in some parts an
abridgment of that of 2 Kings xx. The abridger, having
finished his extract here with the 11th verse, seems to have
observed, that the 7th and 8th verses of 2 Kings xx. were
wanted to complete the narration : he therefore added them
at the end of the chapter, after lie had inserted the song of
Hezekiah, probably with jnarks for their insertion in their
proper places ; which marks were afterwards neglected by
transcribers : or a transcriber might omit them by mistake,
and add them at the end of the chapter with such marks.
Many transpositions are, with great probability, to be account-
ed for in the same way.
G. I will protect this city — ] The other copy, 2 Kings
XX. 6. adds, " for mine own sake, and for the sake of David
my servant ;" and the sentence seems somewhat abrupt with-
out it.
8. hyw hick the sun is gone dovm — J For tyoii/3,LXX,
Syr. Chald. read wm)r\ : Houbigant. In the history of
this miracle in the book of Kings, 2 Kings xx. 9 — 11. there
is no mention at all made of the sun, but only of the going
backward of the shadow; which might be effected by a su-
pernatural refraction. The fast o \xioi in this verse is omitted
in LXX, MS Pachom.
9. The writing of Hezekiah.'] Here the book of Kings
deserts ns, the song of Hezekiah not being inserted in it.
Another copy of this very obscure passage (obscure not only
CHAP. XXXVIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 307
from the concise poetical style, but because it is probably
very incorrect) would have been of great service. The MSS
and ancient versions, especially the latter, will help us to get
through some of the many difficulties v/hich we meet v.'ith in
it.
11. Jehovah] n* n' seems to be mn' in MSS Bodi.
and it was so at first written in another ; so Syr. See Hou-
bigant.
12. — a shepherd^s tent — ] ';;i is put for n;;"), say the
Rabbins ; Sal. b. Melee on the place : but much more proba-
bly is written imperfectly for ny^. See note on chap. v. 1.
Ibid. Ml/ life is cut off — ] •'mDp: this verb is rendered
passively, and in the third person, by Syr. Chald. Yulg.
13. The last line of the foregoing verse, nV? n;? dvd
'wbari, '' In the course of the day thou wilt finish my web,"
is not repeated at the end of this verse in the Syriac version ;
and a MS omits it. It seems to have been inserted a second
time ill the Hebrew text by m.istake.
Ibid. I roared— '\ For wiii', the Chaldee has n'nn:: he
read ?nJKti', the proper term for the roaring of a lion ; often
applied to the deep groaning of men in sickness : see Psal.
xxii. 2. xxxii. 4. xxxviii. 9. Job. iii. 24. The Masoretes di-
vide the sentence, as I have done, taking »-ind, like a lion,
into the first member ; and so likewise LXX.
14. Like the sivallow — ] d^dd ; so read two MSS, Theod.
and Hieron.
Ibid. — mine eyes fail] For •h'\, the LXX read 1^73,
i^zXiTs-ov. Compare Psal. Ixix. 4. cxix. 82. 123. Lam, ii. 11. iv.
17. in the Hebrew and in LXX.
Ibid. — O Lord — ] For nm', thirty MSS and eight edi-
tions read 'Jix.
Ibid. — contend thou — ] npi::;;^, with jiT, Jarchi. This
sense of the word is established by Gen. xxvi. 20. •' he called
the name of the well pa?;;, Esek, because they strove with
him : " ipts';?nn, equivalent to ^y■^■' at the beginning of the
verse.
15. — will I rejiect — ] mn«, recogitaho, Vnlg. reputabo,
Hieron. in loc.
16. For this cause shall it be declared- — ] Tle^t xvTr,i y«f
et'ijyyfAjj CO/, vMt e'^Tiyei^cKi ft^ov ry,v ttvoj^v, LXX. They rcad m
their copies, »nn "nm "p iirs' n''7>'; not very different from
the present text, from which all the ancient versions vary.
They entirely omit two words, jnn '7Dh»i; as to \vhich there is
308 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XXXVIII.
some variation in the MSS. A MS has '7321, two others ^731,
and ten MSS have Dn3.
Ibid. — hast jrrolonged my life.'] A MS and the Baby-
lonish Tahiiud read ♦r'nm; and so the ancient versions. It
must necessarily be in the second person.
17. Mij anguish is changed into ease — ] io ''7 1::,
*' mutata mihi est amaritudo." Paronomasia ; a figure,
which the Prophet frequently admits : I do not always note
it, because it cannot ever be preserved in the translation, and
the sense seldom depends upon it. But here it perfectly clears
up tlie great obscurity of the passage. See Lowth on the
place.
Ibid. Thou hast rescued — ] nDjyn, with d instead of p ;
so LXX and Vulg. : Houbigant. See Chappelow on Job
xxxiii. 18.
Ibid. — -from perdition — ] ^^2 nni^n, Ivx fA^n uTroXyjrxi,
LXX ; ut non periret, Vulg. ; perhaps inverting the order of
the words. See Houbigant.
i9.—thy truth] "]nnN b»s*. A MS omits '7n; and instead
of '7X, an ancient MS and one edition read nx. The same
mistake as in Psal. ii. 7.
21. Let them take a lump of figs : and they bruised
the?n — ] God, in effecting this miraculous cure, was pleased
to order the use of means not improper for that end. " Folia,
et, quae non matuiuere, fici, strumis illinuntur, omnibusque
quae emoUienda sunt discutiendave : " Plin. Nat. Hist, xxiii.
7. " Ad discutienda ea, quae in corporis parte ahqua coierunt,
maxime possunt — ficus arida," &c. : Celsus, v. 11.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Hitherto the copy of this history in the second book of
Kings has been much the most correct : in this chapter, that
in Isaiah has the advantage. In the two first verses two
mistakes in the other copy are to be corrected from this : for
irrpTn, Ilezekiah, read piH-i, a)id v-as recovered ; and for
>^Dcyi, he heard, read noty'i, ho rejoiced.
1. — atid atnhassadors.] The LXX add here x«< -Tr^nrQeii;
that is, DOxSoi, and ambassadors ; which word seems
necessary to the sense, though omitted in the Hebrew text
both here and in the other copy, 2 Kings xx. 12. For the
subsequent narration refers to them all along; "these men,
CHAP. XXXIX. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 309
whence came they ? " &c. plainly supposing them to have
been personally mentioned before. See Houbigant.
6. — to Babylon — ] n'733 ; so two MSS (one ancient) ;
rightly without doubt, as the other copy, 2 Kings xx. 17. has
it.
8. And Hezekiah said — ] The nature of Hezekiah's
crime, and his humiliation on the message of God to him
by the Prophet, is more expressly declared by the author of
the book of Chronicles : " But Hezekiah rendered not again,
according to the benefit done unto him ; for his heart was
hfted up : therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon
Judah and Jerusalem. Notwithstanding, Hezekiah humbled
himself for the pride of his heart, (both he and the inhabi-
tants of Jerusalem), so that the wrath of the Lord came
not upon them in the days of Hezekiah. And Hezekiah
prospered in all his works. Howbeit, in the business of the
ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him
to inquire of the wonder that was done in (he land, God left
him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his
heart ; " 2 Chron. 25, 26. 30, 31.
CHAPTER XL.
The course of prophecies, which follow from hence to the
end of the book, and which taken together constitute the most
elegant part of the sacred writings of the Old Testament;
interspersed also with many passages of the highest sublimi-
ty ; was probably delivered in the latter part of the reign of
Hezekiah. The Prophet in the foregoing chapter had de-
Kvered a very explicit declaration of the impending dissolution
of the kingdom, and of the captivity of the royal house of
David, and of the people, under the kings of Babylon. As
the subject of his subsequent prophecies was to be chiefly of
the consolatory kind, he opens them with giving a promise of
the restoration of the kingdom, and the return of the people
from that captivity, by the merciful interposition of God in
their favour. But the views of the Prophet are not confined
to this event. As the restoration of the royal family, and
of the tribe of Judah, which would otherwise have soon be-
come undistinguished, and have been irrecoverably lost, was
necessary, in the design and order of Providence, for the ful-
filling of God's promises of establishing a more glorious and
310 XOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XL.
an everlasting kingdom, under the Messiah to be born of the
tribe of Judah, and of the family of David ; the Prophet
connects these two events together, and hardly ever treats of
the former without throwing in some intimations of the
latter ; and sometimes is so fully possessed with the glories of
the future more remote kingdom, that he seems to leave the
more immediate subject of his commission almost out of the
question.
Indeed this evangelical sense of the prophecy is so apparent,
and stands forth in so strong a light, that some interpre'ters
cannot see that it has any other ; and will not allow the
prophecy to have any relation at all to the return from the
captivity of Babylon. It may be useful, therefore, to ex-
amine more attentively the train of the Prophet's ideas, and
to consider carefully the images under which he displays his
subject. He hears a crier giving orders by solemn proclama-
tion to prepare the w^ay of the Lord in the wilderness ; to
remove all obstructions before Jehovah marching through
the desert ; through the wild, uninhabited, unpassable coun-
try. The deliverance of God's people from the Babylonish
captivity is considered by him as paiallel to the former de-
liverance of them from the Egyptian bondage. God was
then represented as their king, leading them in person through
the vast deserts, which lay in their way to the promised land
of Canaan. It is not merely for Jehovah himself, that in
both cases the way was to be prepared, and all obstructions
to be removed ; but for Jehovah marching in person at
the head of his people. Let us first see, how this idea is
pursued by the sacred poets who treat of the Exodus, which
is a favourite subject with them, and affords great choice of
examples : —
" When Israel came out of Egypt;
The house of Jacob, from the barbarous people;
Judah was his sanctuary,
Israel his dominion." Psal. cxiv. 1, 2.
" Jehovah his God is with him;
And the shout of a king is among them:
God brought them out of Egypt." Numb, xxiii. 21, 22.
" Make a highway for him that rideth tlirough the deserts:
O God, when thou wcntcst forth before thy people;
When thou marchcdst through the wilderness.
The heavens dropped." Psal. Ixviii. 4, 7.
Let lis now see how Isaiah treats the subject of the return
CHAP. XL. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 311
of the people from Babylon : they were to march through
the wilderness with Jehovah at their head, who was to lead
them, to smooth the way before them, and to supply them
with water in the thirsty desert ; with perpetual allusion to
the Exodus :
" Come ye forth from Babylon, flee ye from the land of the
Chaldeans with the voice of joy:
Publish ye this, and make it heard; utter it forth even to
the end of the earth :
Say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed his servant Jacob:
They thirsted not in the deserts, through which he made
them go;
Waters from the rock he caused to flow for them;
Yea he clave the rock, and forth gushed the waters."
Chap, xlviii. 20, 21.
" Remember not the former things;
And the things of ancient times regard not: "
(That is, the dehverance from Egypt) :
"Behold, I make a new thing;
Even now shall it spring forth: will ye not regard it?
Yea I will make in the wilderness a way;
In the desert, streams of water." Chap, xliii. 18, 19.
" But he that trusteth in me shall inherit the land,
And shall possess my holy mountain.
Then will I say. Cast up, cast up the causeway; make
clear the way ;
Remove every obstruction from the road of my people."
Chap. Ivii. 13, 14.
" How beautiful appear on the mountains
The feet of the joyful messenger, of him that announceth
peace;
Of the joyful messenger of good tidings, of him that an-
nounceth salvation;
Of him that sayeth to Sion, Thy God reigneth!
All thy watchmen lift up their voice, they shout together;
For face to face shall they see, when Jehovah returneth
to Sion.
Verily not in haste shall ye go forth;
And not by flight shall ye march along:
For Jehovah shall march in your front ;
And the God of Israel shall bring up your rear."
Chap. hi. 7, 8, 12.
Babylon was separated from Judea by an immense tract
of country, which was one continued desert ; that large part
of Arabia called very properly Deserta. It is mentioned
312 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XL.
in history as a remarkable occurrence, that Nebuchadnezzar,
having received the news of the death of his father, in order
to make the utmost expedition in his journey to Babylon from
Egypt and Phoenicia, set out with a few attendants, and
passed through this desert. Berosus, apud Joseph. Antiq. x.
11. This was the nearest way homewards for the Jews ;
and whether they actually returned by this way or not, the
first thing that would occur on the proposal or thought of
their return, would be the difficulty of this almost impractica-
ble passage. Accordingly the proclamation for the prepara-
tion of the way is the most natural idea, and the most obvious
circumstance, by which the Prophet could have opened his
subject.
These things considered, I have not the least doubt, that
the return of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon is the
first, though not the principal, thing in the Prophet's view.
The redemption from Babylon is clearly foretold ; and at the
same time is employed as an image to shadow out a redemp-
tion of an infinitely higher and more important nature. I
should not have thought it necessary to employ so many
words in endeavouring to establish what is called the literal
sense of this prophecy, which I think cannot be rightly un-
derstood without it, had I not observed, that many interpre-
ters of the first authority, in particular the very learned Vit-
ringa, have excluded it entirely.
Yet obvious and plain as I think this literal sense is, we
have nevertheless the irrefragable authority of Jolm the Bap-
tist, and of our blessed Saviour himself, as recorded by all the
Evangehsts, for explaining this exordium of the prophecy of
the opening of the gospel by the preaching of John, and of
the introducing of the kingdom of Messiah ; who was to ef-
fect a much greater deliverance of the people of God, Gen-
tiles as well as Jews, from the captivity of sin and the domin-
ion of death. And this we shall find to be the case in many
subsequent parts also of this prophecy, where passages mani-
festly relating to the deUverance of the Jewish nation, effected
by Cyrus, are with good reason, and upon undoubted author-
ity, to be understood of the redemption wrought for mankind
by Christ.
If the literal sense of this prophecy, as above explained,
cannot be questioned, much less surely can the spiritual ;
which, I think, is allowed on all hands even by Grotius
himself. If both arc to be admitted, here is a plain example
CHAP. XL. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 313
of the mystical allegory, or double sense, as it is commonly
called, of prophecy ; which the sacred writers of the New Tes-
tament clearly suppose, and according to which they frequent-
ly frame tlieir interpretation of passages of the Old Testa-
ment. Of the foundation and properties of this sort of alle-
gory, see De S. Poes. Hebr. Prselect. xi.
2. Blessings double to the punishment^ It does not
seem reconcileable to our notions of the divine justice, which
always punishes less than our iniquities deserve, to suppose,
that God had punished the sins of the Jews in double pro-
portion : and it is more agreeable to the tenor of this con-
solatory message, to understand it as a promise of ample
recompense for the effects of past displeasure, on the recon-
ciliation of God to his returning people. To express this
sense of the passage, which the words of the original will
very well bear, it was necessary to add a word or two in
the version to supply the elliptical expression of the He-
brew. Compare chap. Ixi. 7. Job. xlii. 10. Zech. ix. 12.
nxun signifies punishment for sin. Lam. iii. 39. Zech. xiv. 19.
3. A voice crieth : In the wilderness — ] The idea is
taken from the practice of eastern monarchs, who, whenever
they entered upon an expedition, or took a journey, especially
through desert and unpractised countries, sent harbingers be-
fore them to prepare all things for their passage, and pioneers
to open the passes, to level the ways, and to remove all im-
pediments. The officers appointed to superintend such prep-
arations the Latins call iStratores. " Ipse (Johannes Bap-
tista) se stratorem vocat Messiee, cujus esset alta et elata voce
homines in desertis locis habitantes ad itinera et vias Regi
mox venturo sternendas et reficiendas hortari : " Mosheim,
Instituta Majora, p. 96.
Diodorus's account of Semiramis's marches into Media
and Persia, will give us a clear notion of the preparation of
the way for a royal expedition : " In her march to Ecbatane
she came to the Zarcean mountain ; which extending many
furlongs, and being full of craggy precipices and deep hol-
lows, could not be passed without taking a great compass
about. Being therefore desirous of leaving an everlasting
memorial of herself, as well as of shortening the way, she
ordered the precipices to be digged down, and the hollows
to be filled up ; and at a great expense she made a shorter
and more expeditious road, which to this day is called from
32
314 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XL.
her the Road of Semiramis. Afterward she went into Per-
sia, and all the other countries of Asia subject to her donriin-
ion ; and wherever she went, she ordered the mountains and
precipices to be levelled, raised causeways in the plain coun-
try, and at a great expense made the ways passable : " Diod.
Sic. lib. ii.
The writer of the apocryphal book called Baruch, expresses
the same subject by the same images ; either taking them
from this place of Isaiah, or from the common notions of his
countrymen: " For God hath appointed, that every higl: hill,
and banks of long continuance, should be cast down, and
vallies filled up, to make even the ground, that Israel may go
safely in the glory of God ; " chap. v. 7.
The Jewish church, to which John was sent to announce
the coming of Messiah, was at that time in a barren and
desert condition, unfit without reformation for the reception
of her king. It was in this desert country, destitute at that
time of all religious cultivation, in true piety and good
works unfruitful, that John was sent to prepare the way of
the Lord by preaching repentance. I have distinguished
the parts of the sentence according to the punctuation of the
Masoretes, which agrees best both with the hterrl and the
spiritual sense ; which the construction and parallelism of
the distich in the Hebrew plainly favours ; and of which the
Greek of the LXX and of the Evangelists is equally suscep-
tible.
John was born in the desert of Judea, and passed his whole
hfe in it, till the time of his being manifested to Israel. He
preached in the same desert : it was a mountainous coun-
try ; however, not entirely and properly a desert, for, though
less cultivated than other parts of Judea, yet it was not unin-
habited : Joshua (chap. xv. 61, 62.) reckons six cities in it.
We are so prepossessed with the idea of John's living and
preaching in the desert, that we are apt to consider this par-
ticular scene of his preaching as a very important and essen-
tial part of his history : whereas I apprehend this circumstance
to be no otherwise important, than as giving us a strong
idea of the rough character of the man, which was answera-
ble to the place of his education ; and as affording a proper
emblem of the rude state of the Jewish church at that time ;
which was the true wilderness meant by the Prophet, in
which John was to prepare the way for the coming of the
Messiah.
CHAP. XL. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 315
4. The word npj; is very generally rendered crooked ; but
this sense of the word seems not to be supported by any good
authority. Ludolphus, Comment, ad Hist. ^Elhiop. p. 206.
says, that in the ^thiopic language it signifies clivus, locus
editiis ; and so the Syriac version renders it in this place
njy\y, Heb. riDij;, tumuhis, acervus. Thus the parallelism
woula !j3 more perfect : " the hilly country shall be made
level, and the precipices a smooth plain."
5. — the salvation of our Gocl\ These words are added
here by LXX : to a-uTn^io* tov ©eov, M-pha npw nw, as it is in
the parallel place, chap. lii. 10. The sentence is abrupt with-
out it, the verb wanting its object ; and I think it is genuine.
Our English translation has supplied the word ?7, which is
equivalent to this addition from LXX.
This omission in the Hebrew text is ancient, being prior
to the Chaldee, Syriac, and Vulgate versions : but the words
stand in all the copies of the LXX ; and they are acknowl-
edged by Luke, iii. 6.
6. its glory — J For non read nnj LXX, and Vulg. and
1 Pet. i. 24.
7. this people — ] So Syr. who perhaps read nin n^'n.
6 — 8. A voice sayeth, Proclaim — ] To understand right-
ly this passage is a matter of importance ; for it seems de-
signed to give us the true key to the remaining part of Isaiah's
prophecies; the general subject of which is the restoration
of the people and church of God. The Prophet opens the
subject with great clearness and elegance : he declares at once
God's command to his messengers, (his Prophets, as the
Ghaldee rightly explains it,) to comfort his people in captivi-
ty, tojimpart to them the joyful tidings, that their punish-
ment has now satisfied the divine justice, and the time of
reconciliation and favour is at hand. He then introduces a
harbinger giving orders to prepare the way for God leading
his people from Babylon, as he did formerly from Egypt,
through the wilderness ; to remove all obstacles, and to clear
the wa)'^ for their passage. Thus far nothing more appears
to be intended than a return from the Babylonish captiv-
ity : but the next words seem to intimate something much
greater :
■ " And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed;
And all flesh shall see together the salvation of our God."
He then introduces a voice commanding him to make a
solemn proclamation. And what is the import of it? That
316 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XL.
the people, the flesh, is of a vain temporary nature ; that all
its glory fadeth, and is soon gone ; but that the word of
God endureth for ever. What is this, but a plain opposi-
tion of the flesh to the spirit ; of the carnal Israel to the
spiritual ; of the temporary Mosaic economy to the eternal
Christian dispensation ? You may be ready to conclude,
(the Prophet may be suppored to say), by this introduction
to my discourse, that my commission is only to comfort you
with a promise of the restoration of your religion and polity,
of Jerusalem, of the teu.ple, and its services and worship in
all its ancient splendour : These are earthly, temporary,
shadowy, fading things, v. hich shall soon pass away, and be
destroyed for ever ; these are not worthy to engage your
attention, in comparison of the greater blessings, the spirit-
ual redemption, the eternal inheritance, covered under the
veil of the former, which I have it in charge to unfold unto
you. The law has only a shadow of good things ; the sub-
stance is the gospel. I promise you a restoration of the
former ; which, however, is only for a time, and shall be
done away, according to God's original appointment: but
under that image I give you a view of the latter ; which
shall never be done away, but shall endure for ever. This
I take to be agreeable to St. Peter's interpretation of this
passage of the Prophet, quoted by him 1 Pet. i. 24, 25.
'• All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower
of grass. The grass withereth, anil the flower thereof falleth
away ; but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And
this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."
This is the same word of the Lord of which Isaiah speaks,
which hath now been preached unto you by the gospel. The
law and the gospel are frecjuently opposed to one another bj"
St Paul under the images of flesh and spirit : " Having begun
in the spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh 7 " Gal.
iii. 3.
7. When the wind of Jehovau — ] niYi^ nn, a wind of
Jehovah, is a Hebraism, meaning no more than a strong
wind. It is well known, that a hot wind in the East destroys
at once every green thing. Compare Psal. ciii. 10. Two
MSS omit the word nirr, Jehovah.
9. O daughter that hringest giadtidhigs] That the true
construction of the sentence is this, which makes Sion tlie
receiver, not the publisher, of tlie glad tidings, (which latter
has been the most prevailing interpretation), will, I think,
CHAP. XL. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 317
very clearly appear, if we rightly consider the image itself,
and the custom and common practice from which it is taken.
I have added the word daughter, to express the feminine
gender of the Hebrew participle, which 1 know not how
to do otherwise in our language. And this is absolutely
necessary in order to ascertain the image ; for the office of
announcing and celebrating such glad tidings as are here
spoken of, belonged peculiarly to the women. On occasion
of any great public success, a signal victory, or any other
joyful event, it was usual for the women to gather together,
and with music, dances, and songs, to [publish and celebrate
the happy news. Thus, after the passage of the Red Sea,
Miriam, aud all the women, with trimbrels in their hands,
formed a chorus, and joined the men in their triumphant
song, dancing, and throwing in alternately the refrain or
burthen of the song : —
Sing ye to Jehovah, for he is greatly exalted;
The horse and his rider hath he cast into the sea."
Exod. XV. 20, 21.
So Jephthah's daughter collected a chorus of virgins, and
with dances and songs came out to meei her Aither, and to
celebrate his victory ; Judg. xi. 34. After Eavid's conquest
of Goliah, " all the women came out of the cities of Israel,
singing and dancing, to meet Saul, with tabrets, with joy,
and with instruments of music :" and forming themselves in-
to two chorusses, they sung alternately, —
" Saul has slain his thousands;
And David his ten thousands." 1 Sam. xviii. 6, 7.
And this gives us the true sense of a passage in the Ixviiith
Psalm, which has frequently been misunderstood : —
" Jehovah gave the word; (that is, the joyful news);
The women, who published the glad tidings, were a great
company:
The kings of mighty armies did flee, did flee;
And even the matron, who staid at home, shared the spoil."
The v.'ord signifying the publishers of glad tidings is the
same, and expressed in the same form by the feminine par-
ticiple, as in this place ; and the last distich is the song which
they sung. So in this place, Jehovah having given the
word by his Prophet, the joyful tidings of the restoration of
Sion, and of God's returning to Jerusalem, (see chap. lii.
8.), the women are exhorted by the Prophet to publish the
32*
318 NOTKS ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XL.
joyful news with a loud voice from eminences, whence they
• might best be heard all over the country ; and the matter and
burthen of their song was to be, " Behold your God !"
10. — his reward, and the recompey^se of his worlc] That
is, the reward and recompense, which he bestows and
which he will pay to his faithful servants : this he has ready
at hand with him, and holds it out before him, to encourage
those who trust in him, and wait for him.
11. The nursing' cives shall he gently lead] A beautiful
image, expressing, with the \itmost propriety as well as ele-
gance, the tender attention of the shepherd to his flock.
Tliat the greatest care in driving the cattle in regard to the
dams and their young was necessary, appears clearly from
Jacob's apology to his brother Esau, Gen. xxxiii. 13. " The
flocks and the herds giving suck to their young are with
me ; and if they should be over-driven, all the flock will die."
Which is set in a still stronger light by the following remark
of Sir John Chardin : " Their flocks, (says he. speaking
of those who now live in the East after the patriarchal man-
ner), feed down the places of their encampments so quick,
by the great numbers that they have, that they are obliged
to remove them too often ; which is very destructive to their
flocks on account of the young ones, who have not strength
enough to follow :" Harmer's Observ. i. p. 126.
16. And Lebanon is not sufficient — ] The image is beau-
tiful and uncommon ; it has been imitated by an apocryphal
writer, who however comes far short of the original : —
" For all sacrifice is too little for a sweet savour unto tliee;
And all the fat is not sufficient for thy burnt ofTering."
Judith xvi. 16.
19, — and forgeth — ] For fi-^ii-, the participle, twenty-
seven MSS (five ancient), and three editions, read t^iy, praet.
3d person.
21. — understood it from the foundation — ] The true
reading seems to be nnDiDO, to answer to liXio in the fore-
going line. It follows a word ending with n; and out of three
fiiems concuring, it was an easy mistake to drop the middle one.
22. — as a thin veil] " It is usual in the summer season,
and upon all occasions, when a large company is to be re-
ceived, to have the court slieltered from heat, or inclemency
of the weather, by a vein umbrella, or veil, as I shall call
it ; which, being expanded on ropes from one side of the
parapet-wall to the other, may be folded or unfolded at
CHAP. XL. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 319
pleasure. The Psalmist seems to allude to some covering
of this kind in that beautiful expression of spreading out the
heavens like a curtain :" Shaw, Trav. p. 274.
24. If lie hut blow upon them] The LXX, Syr. Vulg.
and MS Bodl. and another, have dj without the conjunc-
tion 1.
28. And that his understanding — [ Twenty-four MSS,
two editions, LXX, and Vulg. read rxi, with the conjunc-
tion 1.
31. They shall put forth fresh feathers^ It has been a
common and popular opinion, that the eagle lives and re-
tains his vigour to a great age ; and that, beyond the com-
mon lot of other birds, he moults in his old age, and renews
his feathers, and with them his youth. " Thou shalt renew
thy youth like the eagle," says the Psalmist, ciii. 5. ; on which
place St. Ambrose notes, " Aquila longam setatem ducit,
dum, vetustis plumis fatiscentibus, nova pennarum succes-
sione juvenescit." Phile, de Aniaialibus, treating of the
eagle, and addressing himself to the Emperor Michael
Paleeologus junior, raises his compliment upon the same
notion : —
Tovrav o-v, (icC(ri>iiVy rev TraXvv (^aoii /3<av,
Alt y-ov^yavy x.cit x.^ccT>ivm r-ziv (pvs-tv.
Long may'st thou live, 0 king ; still like the eagle
Renew thy youth, and still retain thy vigour.
To this many fabulous and absurd circumstances are added
by several ancient writers and commentators on Scripture:
see Bochart, Hieroz. II. ii. 1. Whether the notion of the
eagle's renewing his youth is in any degree well founded or
not, I need not inquire ; it is enough for a poet, whether
profane or sacred, to have the authority of popular opinion
to support an image introduced tor illustration or ornament.
CHAPTER XLI.
1 . — repair to me ivith new sentiments] EyKxivi^ec-h, LXX.
For ij!?'inn, be silent, they certainly read in their copy
wnnn, be renewed ; which is parallel and synonymous with
HD I3'h>n"', recover their strength : that is, their strength of
mind, their powers of reason ; that they may overcome those
prejudices by which they have been so long held enslaved
to idolatry. A MS has in upon a rasure. The same mis-
320 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLI.
take seems to have been made in this word, Zeph. iii. 17. :
for in^HN^ ti^'irr, " sileblt in dilectione sua," as the Vul-
gate renders it, which seems not consistent with what im-
mediately follows, " exultabit super le in laude ;" LXX and
Syr. read in3nN3 tynn", ^'renovabitur in amore suo."
2. — the righteous wow.] The Chald. and Vulg. seem to
have read pnv- But Jerom, though his translation has
jiistum, appears to have read pii'j for in his comment he
expresses it by jiistu.m, sine jiistitiam. However, I think [all
interpreters understand it of a person. So the LXX, in
MS Pachom. iy-xXea-ev uvrov, but the other copies have uvt>ik
They are divided in ascertaining this person: some explain
it of Abraham ; others of Cyrus. I rather think that the
former is meant ; because the character of the righteous
man, or righteousness, agrees better with Abraham than with
Cyrus. Besides, inunediately after the description of the suc-
cess given by God to Abraham and his posterity, (who, I
presume, are to be taken into the account), the idolaters are
introduced as greatly alarmed at this event. Abraham was
called out of the east ; and his posterity were introduced
into the land of Canaan, in order to destroy the idolaters of
that country ; and they were established there, on purpose
to stand as a barrier against idolatry, then prevailing, and
threatening to overrun the whole face of the earth. -Cyrus,
though not properly an idolater, or worshipper of images,
yet had nothing in his character to cause such an alarm
among the idolaters, ver. 5 — 7. Further, after having just
touched upon that circumstance, the Prophet with great ease
returns to his former subject, and resumes Abraham and the
Israelites ; and assures them, that as God had called them,
and chosen them for this purpose, he would uphold and
support them to the utmost, and at length give them victory
over all the heathen nations, their enemies ; ver. 8 — 16.
Ibid. — made them like the dust — ] The image is strong
and beautiful ; it is often made use of by the sacred poets ;
see Psal. i. 4. xxxv. 5. Job. xxi. 18. and by Isaiah himself in
other places, chap. xvii. 13. xxix. 5. But there is great
difliculty in making out the construction. The LXX read
□ntyp, DDin, their sword, their boiv, understanding it of the
sword and bow of the conquered kings ; but this is not so
agreeable to the analogy of the image, as employed in other
places. The Chaldee Paraphrast and Kimchi solve the dif-
ficulty by supposing an ellipsis of 'J3^ before those words.
CHAP. XLI. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 321
It must be own3d, that the ellipsis is hard and unusual : but
I choose rather to submit to this, than, by adhering with
Yitringa to the more obvious construction, to destroy entirely
both the image and the sense. But the Vulgate by gladio
ejus, and arciii ejus, seems to express Din^ and k\wp'i ; the
admission of which reading may perhaps be thougnt prefera-
ble to Kimchi's ellipsis.
3. — he jjasseth in safety^ The preposition seems to have
been omitted in the text by mistake : LXX and Vulg. seem
to have had it in their copies ; tv et^n^Ti, in pace, Di^t^a.
4. — and made these things'\ A word is here lost out of
the text. It is supphed by an ancient MS, nba, these things ;
and bv LXX, tccvtx^ and by Vulg. hac ; and by Chald.
5. — and they loere terrified'] Three MSS have nim,
adding the conjunction i, which restores the second member
of the sentence to its true poetical form.
7. — that it shall not move.] Five MSS (two ancient),
and the ancient versions, add the conjunction ), reading xbi ;
which seems to be right.
9. —frofn the extremities thereof] H'b'i'ND : 'j'^fN signi-
fies the arm, axilla, ala ; and is used hke f]]^, the wing, for
any thing extended from the extremity of another, or joined
on to it. It is here parallel and synonomous to TW^i'^'O, from
the ends, in the preceding member.
15. — a threshing wain, — a corn-drag] See note on
chap, xxviii. 27, 28.
19. In the vnlderness I will give the cedar] The two
preceding verses express God's mercy to them in their pas-
sage through the dry deserts, in supplying them with abun-
dant water, when distressed with thirst, in allusion to the
Exodus : this verse expresses the relief aflbrded to them, faint-
ing with heat in their journey through that hot country, des-
titute of shelter, by causing shady trees, and those of the
tallest and most beautiful kinds, to spring up for their defence.
The apocryphal Baruch, speaking of the return from Baby-
lon, expresses God's protection of his people by the same
image : " Even the woods and every sweet smelling tree shall
overshadow Israel by the commandment of God ; " chap.
v. 8.
20. — and may consider — ] The verb iD'ty, without 3^
added, cannot signify to apply the heart, or to attend to a
thing, as Houbigant has olDserved : he therefore reads loiy'i
322 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLI.
they shall u'onder. The conjecture is ingenious : but it is
much more probable that the word ab is lost out of the text ;
for all the ancient versions render the phrase to the same
sense, as if it were fully expressed, :h id'K''; and the Chaldee
renders it paraphrastically, yet still retaining the very words
in his paraphrase, \\r\2h *?>' 'nbm piiyi, " ut ponant timorem
meum in corde suo." See also ver. 22. where the same phrase
is used.
21. Produce these your mis^hty fowers^ " Accedant, in-
quit, idola vestra, quae putatis esse fortissima :" Hieron. Com.
in loc. I prefer this to all other interpretations of this place,
and to Jerom's own translation of it, which he adds immedi-
ately after, " Atferte, si quid forte habetis." The false gods
are called upon to come forth, and appear in person ; and to
give evident demonstration of their fore-knowledge and power,
by foretelling future events, and exerting their power in doing
good or evil.
23. — and terror] The word ni:i is written imperfectly in
the Hebrew text : the Masoretes supply n at the end ; and
so it is read in twenty-two MSS, and four editions : that is,
riNiJi, and we shall see. But the true reading seems to be
j<i'ji, and we shall fear, with ' supplied, from XT.
24. — than nought] For;'DNO, read dsnd; so Chald. and
Vulg. A manifest error of the text : compare chap. xl. 17.
The Rabbins acknowledge no such error ; but say, that the
former word signifies the same with the latter, by a change
of the two letters d and ;^: Sal. b. Melech in loc.
25. — he shall trample — ] For n3', Le Clerc reads D3',
from the Chaldee, who seems to read both words. " Forte
legend. dd'I, vel ddti ; sequitur d : " Secker. See Na-
hum iii. 14.
27. I first to Si 071 — ] This verse is somewhat obscure by
the transposition of the parts of the sentence, and the peculiar
manner in which it is divided into two parallel lines. The
verb at the end of the sentence belongs to both parts ; and
the phrase. Behold they are here ! is parallel to the 7Jicssen-
ger of glad tidings ; and stands, like it, as the accusative
case to the verb. The following paraphrase will explain the
form and the sense of it : "1 first, by my Prophets, give no-
tice of these events, saying, Behold, they are at hand ! and 1
give to Jerusalem a messenger of glad tidings."
28. And among the idols — J For n'7xrDi, I read D'SndI,
with the LXX, x.m xtto rm ii^uXm. See Exod. xv. 1 1. Isa. Ivii. 5.
CHAP. XLII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 323
CHAPTER XLII.
The Prophet, having opened his subject with the pre-
paration for the return from captivity at Babylon, and in-
timated that a much greater deUverance was covered un-
der the veil of that event ; proceeded to vindicate the power
of God, as creator and disposer of all things ; and his infi-
nite knowledge, from his prediction of future events, and in
particular of that deliverance. He went still further, and
pointed out the instrument by which he should effect the
redemption of his people the Jews from slavery, namely, a
great conqueror, whom he would call forth from the north
and the east to execute his orders. In this chapter he pro-
ceeds to the greater deliverance; and at once brings forth in-
to full view, without throwing any veil of allegory over the
subject, the Messiah. '■ Behold, my servant, Messiah," says
the Chaldee. St Matthew has applied it directly to Christ ;
nor can it with any justice or propriety be applied to any oth-
er person or character whatever.
1. And he shall publish judgment] Four MSS (two an-
cient) add the conjunction DDiym. See Matt. xii. 18.
The word DSa'D, judgment, like npTi, righteousness, is
taken in a great latitude of signification. It means rule,
form, order, model, plan ; rule of right, or of rehgion ; an
ordinance, institution ; judicial process, cause, trial, sentence,
condemnation, acquittal, deUverance, mercy, &c. It certain-
ly means in this place the law to be published by Messiah ;
the institution of the gospel.
4. His force shall not he abated nor broken] '• Rabbi
Meir ita citat locum istum, ut post yrv addat inb, robur ejus, 1
quod hodie non comparet in textu Hebreeo, sed addendum
videtur, ut sensus fiat planior :" Capel. Crit. Sac. p. 382.
For which reason I had added it in the translation, before I
observed this remark of Capellus,
6. a covenant to the peojyle] For d>% two MSS read d'7t;*,
the covenant of the age to come, or the everlasting cove-
nant ; which seems to give a clearer and better sense.
7. To open the eyes of the blind — ] In this verse the
Prophet seems to set forth the spiritual redemption, under
images borrowed from the temporal deliverance.
Ibid. — and from the dimgeon — ] The LXX, Syr. an<l
four MSS (one ancient), add the conjunction i, nooi.
324 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLII.
10. Ye that go down wpon the sea\ This seems not to
belong to this place ; it does not well consist with what fol-
lows, " and the fulness thereof." They that go down upon
the sea, means navigators, sailors, traders, such as do busi-
ness in great waters : an idea much too confined for the
Prophet, who means the sea in general, as it is used by the
Hebrews, for the distant nations, the islands, the dwellers
on the sea-coasts all over the world. I suspect that some
transcriber had the 23d verse of Psal. cvii. running in his
head, nvjN3 d'H nir ; and wrote in this place D'n nir
instead of D'n Dj;-)', or ;;'-)', or p' ; ''let the sea roar, or
shout, or exult." But as this is so different in appearance
from the present reading, I do not take the liberty of in-
troducing it into the translation. " Conjeceram legendum
1TJ' ,ut ver. 12. ; sed non favent versiones :" Secker.
11. Let the desert — ] The most uncultivated countries,
and the most rude and uncivilized people, shall confess and
celebrate with thanksgiving the blessing of the knowledge
of God graciously imparted to them. By the desert is
meant Arabia Deserta ; by the rocky country, Arabia Pe-
trsea : by the mountains, probably those celebrated ones,
Paran, Horeb, Sinai, in the same country ; to which also
belonged Kedar, a clan of Arabians, dwelling for the most
part in tents : but there were others of them, who inhabited
or frequented cities and villages, as may be collected from
this place of the prophet. Pietro della Valle, speaking of
the people of Arabia Deserta, says, " There is a sort of
Arabs of that country called Maedi, who with their herds,
of buffaloes for the most part, sometimes live in the deserts,
and sometimes in cities ; from whence they have their name,
which signifies wandering, going from place to place. They
have no professed homes ; nor are they properly Bedaui, or
Beduui, that is, Dcseriicoli, who are the most noble among
them, and never abide within walls, but always go wandering
through the open country with their black tents ; nor are
they properly Hhadesi, as they call those who dwell in cities
and lands with fixed houses : these by the latter are esteemed
ignoble and base ; but by both are considered as of low con-
dition :" Viaggi, Parte III. lett. 2.
14. shall I keep silence forever ?] After oibj^D, in the
copy which the LXX had before them, followed the word
Dlbi^Sn, es-iuTniirci ctTr cticoiix,' f4ji) xxt aet (nuTrrjij-of^uti; according tO
MSS Pachom. and i. D. ii. and edition Complut. ; which
CHAP. XLII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 325
word rh^jfir} has been omitted in the text by an easy mistake
of a transcriber, because of the simiUtude of the word preced-
ing.
15. — dri/ dcsej'ts] Instead of D''n, islands, read D"x; a
very probable conjecture of Houbigant.
16. And through jiaths — ] The LXX, Syr. Vulg. and
nine MSS (two ancient), read nn^nj^i.
Ibid. — will I do for them] Dr\'2f}?' This word so written,
as it is in the text, means. Thou wilt do, in the second per-
son : the Masoretes have indeed pointed it for the first per-
son ; but the ' in the last syllable is absolutely necessary to
distinguish the first person ; and so it is written in forty MSS,
Jarchi, Kirachi, Sal. b. Melech, <kc. agree, that the past
time is here put for the futur*, ^n'wy for na^yx; and indeed the
context necessarily requires that interpretation. Further, it is
to be observed, that D'n'jy;? is for onb 'H'k?;', / have done
them.) for / have done for them ; as 'jn'ty;; is for '*? in'K'i', /
have m,ade Tnyself, for I have m,ade for m,y$elf ; Ezek.
xxix. 3. : and in the celebrated passage of Jephthah's vow,
Judges xi. 31. rh\y in'n''7;;m, for n'71;; ib 'n'Sj^n, / will offei^
him, a burnt-offering, for 1 will offer unto him (that is
unto Jehovah) a burnt-offering ; by an ellipsis of the prep-
osition, of which Buxtorff gives many other examples. Thee.
Grammat. lib. ii. 17. See also note on chap. Ixv. 5. A late
happy application of this grammatical remark to that much
disputed passage, has perfectly cleared up r. difiiculty which
for two thousand years had puzzled all the translators and
expositors, had given occasion to dissertations without num-
ber, and caused endless disputes among the learned, on the
question, whether Jephthah sacrificed his daughter, or not :
in which both parties have been equally ignorant of the mean-
ing of the place, of the state of the fact, and of the very terms
of the vow ; which now at last has been cleared up beyond
all doubt by my very learned friend Dr. Randolph, Margaret
Professor of Divinity in the university of Oxford, in his ser-
mon on Jephthah's vow ; Oxford, 1766.
19. — as he, to whom I have sent ony messengers.] ok'jdd
n'7tpx, " ut ad quem nuncios meos misi ; " Vulg. Chald. ;
almost the only interpreters who render it rightly, in consis-
tence with the rest of the sentence, and in perfect agreement
with the Hebrew idiom ; according to which the ellipsis is to
be thus suppUed, rhoa '3x'7D i»k'7D.
33
326 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLII.
Ibid. — as he that is perfecili/ instructed\ See note on
chap. xliv. 2.
Ibid. And deaf as the servant of Jehovah] For "ii;;i,
and blind, we must read K'lm, a7id deaf: xw^a?, Symmachus ;
and so MS. Thetnistake is_jiiilKable, and the correction
self-evident ; anoluTmissibleTtliough there had been no au-
thority for it.
20. Tho7i hast seen i?ideed] The text has niai n»xi,
which the Masoretes in the marginal Keri have corrected to
ni^T mxi ; as indeed a hundred and seven MSS, and five
editions, now have it in the text. This was probably the
reading of most of the MSS in their time ; which, though
they approved of it, out of some superstition they would not
admit into their standatil* text. B^ these_yvretched critics,
though they perceived there ^s soiTie~lault7^ yet did not
know where tlie fault lay, nor consequently how to amend
it; and yet it was open enough to a judicious eye: "nDi,
sic veteres ; et tameu forte legendum, rnxi : vide cap. vi. 9 : "
Secker. That is, mxi n'Ni. I believe no one will doubt
of admitting this as the true reading.
Ibid. — 7/et thou wilt not hcar^ For j^Diy', read jrntyn, in
the second person : so all the ancient versions, and forty
MSS (four of them ancient), and perhaps five more. Two
others have ijroiyn, second person, plural.
21. — his own praise] For min, the LXX read mm.
22. — are taken in the foils] For n£in, read main, in the
plural number, Hophal ; as ix^nn, which answers to it in
the following member of the sentence : Le CJerc, Houbigant.
n3n, Secker.
24. — they have si7med] For uxm, first person, LXX
and Chald. read indh, in the third person.
25. the heat of his wrath] For non, the Bodley MS has
rron, in regimine ; more regularly.
CHAPTER XLIII.
1. I have called thee by thy name] pi^D 'ntnp. " Sic ver-
siones. Videtur ex versu septimo et rcipsa legendum ynxip
^TWl^ [vocavi te meo nomine] ; nam sa^pe usurpatur ha3c
phrasis, nunquam altera. Nam xlv. 24. de Cyro alia res est.
Sed dum Deus Jacobum Israelem vocat, Dei nomine vocat.
Vide Exod. xxxi. 2." Secker.
CHAP. XLIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 327
3. / have given Egypt for thy ransom\ This is commonly
supposed to refer to the time of Senacherib's invasion ; who,
when he was just ready to fall upon Jerusalem, soon after
his entering Judea, was providentially diverted from that
design, and turned his arms against the Egyptians, and their
allies the Cushean Arabians, with their neighbours the Sa-
beans probably joined with them, under Tirhakah. See
chap. XX. and xxxvii. 9. Or, as there are some reasonable
objections to this opinion, perhaps it may mean more gene-
rally, that God had often saVed his people at the expense of
other nations, w4iom he l]g.d, as it were in their stead, given
up to destruction. Vitrin^ explains thig of Shalmaneser's
designs upon the kingdom of Judea, after he had destroyed
that of Samaria ; from %liich he ij^pr^iverted by (iarrying
the war against the Egyptiai^ Cusheans, and Sabeans ; but
of this, 1 think, he has no clear proof in history. It is not
to be wondered, that many things of this kind should re-
main very obscure for want of the light of history, which in
rpr?rd to these times is extremely deficient.
" Did not Cyrus overcome these nations ? and might they
not be given him for releasing the Jews ? It seems to have
been so from chap. xlv. 14 :" Secker.
7. Whom for my glory — ] Ten MSS (three ancient),
Syr. and Vulg. read m3DV, without the conjunction i.
8. Bring forth the people blind — ] I understand this of
the Gentiles, as the verse following, not of the Jews. Their
natural faculties, if they had made a proper use of them,
must have led them to the knowledge of the being and attri-
butes of the one true God ; " for his eternal power and
Godhead, if well attended to, are clearly seen in his works ;"
Rom. i. 20. ; and would have preserved them from running
into the folly and absurdity of worshipping idols. They are
here challenged to produce the evidence of the power and
foreknowledge of their idol-gods ; and the Jews are just
afterward, ver. 10, appealed to as witnesses for God in this
cause : therefore these latter cannot here be meant by the
people blind with eyes, and deaf with ears.
9. Who among them—] Seven MSS (three ancient),
and the first edition, 1486, with Syr. and Vulg. read ddd,
who among you. The present reading is preferable.
14. — the Chaldeans extdting in their ships] Babylon
was very advantageously situated, both in respect to com-
merce and as a naval power. It was open to the Persian
328 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLIII.
Gulf by the Euphrates, which was navigable by large ves-
sels ; and being joined to the Tigrir; above Babylon by the
canal called Naharmalca, or the Royal River, supplied the
city with the produce of the whole countr}'^ to the north of
it, as far as the Euxine and Caspian Seas : Herod, i. 194.
Semiramis was the foundress of this part also of the Baby-
lonian greatness : she improved the navigation of the
Euphrates ; Herod, i. 1S4. Strabo, lib. xvi. ; and is said to
have had a fleet of three thousand gallies : Huet, Hist, du
Commerce, chap. xi. We are not to wonder, that in later
times we hear little of the commerce and naval power of
Babylon; for, after the taking of the city by Cyrus, the
Euphrates was not only rendered less fit for navigation, by
being on that occasion diverted from its course, and left to
spread over the whole country^^but the Persian monarchs,
residing in their own country, to prevent any invasion by
sea on that part of their empire, purposely obstructed the
iiavigation of both the rivers, by making cataracts in them ;
StrabO; ibid. ; that is, by raising dams across the channel, and
making artificial falls in them, that no vessel of any size or
force could possibly come up. Alexander began to restore
the navigation of the rivers by demolishing the cataracts
upon the Tigris as far up as Seleucia ; Arrian. lib. vii. ; but
he did not live to finish his great designs ; those upon the
Euphrates still continued, Ammianus, xxiv. 1. mentions
them as subsisting in his time.
The Prophet therefore might very justly speak of the
Chaldeans as glorying in their naval power in his time,
though afterward they had no foundation for making any-
such boast.
15. The Creator of Israel] For nii3, creator, six MSS
(two ancient) have »n'7N, God.
20. The wild beast of the field shall glorify me — ] The
image is elegant and highly poetical. God will give such an
abundant miraculous supply of water to] his people traversing
the dry desert, in their return to their country, that even the
wild beasts, the serpents, the ostriches, and other animals
that haunt those adust regions, shall be sensible of the bless-
ing ; and shall break fortli into thanksgiving and praises to
hiu) for the unusual refreshment, which they receive from
his so plentifully watering the sandy wastes of Arabia De-
^;crta, for the benefit of his people passing through them.
22 — 24. But thou hast not invoked — I The connexion
CHAP. XLIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 329
is — But thou, Israel, whom I have chosen, whom I have
formed for myself, to be my witness against the false gods
of the nations ; even thou hast revolted from me, hast neg-
lected my worship, and hast been perpetually running after
strange gods. The emphasis of this and the following parts
of the sentence, on which the sense depends, seems to lie on
the words Me, on My account, &c. The Jews were dili-
gent in performing the external services of religion ; in of-
fering prayers, incense, sacrifices, oblations : but their pray-
ers were not offered with faith ; and their oblations were
made more frequently to their idols than to the God of their
fathers. The Hebrew idiom excludes with a general nega-
tive, in a comparative sense, one of two objects opposed to
one another : thus, '• I will have mercy, and not sacrifice ; "
Hosea vi. 6. " For I spake 7iot to your fathers, nor com-
manded them — concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices ; but
this thing I commanded them, saying, Obey my voice ; "
Jer. vii. 22, 23. And the meaning of this place of Isaiah
seems to be much the same with that of Amos ; who however
has explained at large both parts of the comparison, and
specified the false service opposed to the true :
" Have ye offered unto Me sacrifices and offerings
In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel .''
Nay, but ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch,
And Chiun, your images ;
The star of your God, which you made to yourselves."
Amos v. 25, 26.
22. Neither hast thou laboured — ] For n;rj' 'D, LXX
and Vulg. read n;?n: Houbigant. The negative is re-
peated, or referred to, ; by the conjunction i ; as in many
other places. See note on chap, xxiii. 4.
20. And thy 'princes have profaned — ] Instead of b'7nNi
nty, read y^^ i'7'?n'i. So Syr. and LXX, x«< ef^Mxi ii
«f;c«'"'f« '■» ^y'"* f^", 'JJ'np • Houbigant. 'ot a^xpvT^'i °''>^> MSS
Pachom. and i. D. ii. and Marchal.
Ibid. — to reproach.^ nanj'?, in the singular number;
80 an ancient MS, and LXX, Syr. Vulg.
CHAPTER XLIV.
2. Jeshurun means Israel. This name was given to that
people by Moses, Deut. xxxii. 15. xxxiii. 5. and 26. The
33*
330 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLIV.
most probable account of it seems to be that in which the
Jewish commentators agree ; namely, that it is derived from
"W, and signifies upright. In the same manner, Israel, as
a people, is called dl]sn, perfect, chap. xlii. 19. They were
taught of God. and abundantly furnished with the means of
rectitude and perfection in his service and worship.
■1. — as the grass among the waters^ T3fn p33 , " They
shall spring up in the midst of, or rather, in among, the
grassy This cannot be right : ten MSS, and two editions,
have {03, or pD. Twenty-four MSS read it without the
% p3; and so reads the Chaldee; the Syriac, yjn. The
true reading is in all probability 1':3D; and the word D'd,
which ^^hould have followed it, is lost out of the text ; but it
is happily supplied by the LXX : <^? uvx ftjc-on eliJeero?, " In
every place where there is water, there is always grass ; for
water makes every thing grow in the East :" Sir John Char-
din'si note on 1 Kings xviii. 5. ; Haimer's Observ. i. p. 54.
5. — shall be called] Passive, xnps xAjj^o-eTa/, Symma-
chus.
Ibid. And this shall inscribe his hand io Jehovah.] k:«j
tre^oi eTTty^x^si x^'?' {z^'?'*i Aq. Sym.) avrov, rev Giav eif^i : " And
another shall write upon his hand, I belong to God : " LXX.
They seem to have read here, as before, "jx nirr'?. But
the repetition of the same phrase without any variation is
not elegant. However, they seem to have understood it
rightly as an allusion to the marks which were made, by
punctures rendered indehble by fire or by staining, upon
the hand or some other part of the body, signifying tlie state
or chciracter of the person, and to whom he belongetl : the.
slave was marked with the name of his master ; the soldier,
of his commander; the idolater, with the name or ensign of
Ins god : rcyf^xra eTriy^u^ef^aoc^ oia rat <r^ciTev6(^tV6)v ti rxig x^S^"'* '•
Aetius apud Turnebum Advers. xxiv. 12. " Victuris in
cu(e punctis milites scripti ct matriculis inserti jurare solcnt:"
Vcgetius, ii. 5. And the Christians seem to'have imitated
this practice, by what Procopius says on this place of Isaiah :
To de TH< XEIPI, dix ro 9%eiy la-ax; ToXXwi fjri jcoc^Traiv, » ji^tt^iovaty tf
rev Tdv^ov ro eref^iio\i, r, rnv X^ifov 7r^o~>iyo§txv : " BecaUSC many
marked their wrists, or their arms, with the sign of the
cross, or with the name of Christ." See Rev. xx. 4.
Spencer, De Leg. Hebr. lib. ii. cap. 20.
7. — let them declare unto us\ For ydi, unto them, the
Chaldee reads ij^, unto us. The LXX read dd"?, unto you :
CHAP. XLIV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 331
which is preferable to the reading of the text. But id'? and
Mb are frequently mistaken one for the other : see chap. x.
29. Psal. Ixxx. 7. Ixiv. 6.
8. Fear ye not — •] " imn nusquam occurrit : forte
wn'n, timete :" Seckek. Two MSS read im»n.
9, 10. That every one jnay he ashamed^ that he hath
formed a god] The Bodleian MS, one of the first ex-
tant for its antiquity and authority, instead of 'd at the
beginning of the 10th verse has o, which greatly clears up
the construction of a very obscure passage. The LXX
likewise closely connect in construction the end of ver. 9.
with the beginning of ver. 10. and wholly omit the interro-
gative 'D, which embarrasses the sentence : cu(!-x,vM6n(!'oiTM ot
vXeKFo-oneii ©eov, >ta; yXvipovrei ■zravrn cc)iu<peM : agreeably tO the
reading of the MS above-mentioned.
11. Eve7i the workmen themselves shall blush"] I do not
know, that any one has ever yet interpreted these words to
any tolerably good sense: dind nnn D'K'ini. The Vul-
gate, and our translators, have rendered them -very fairly,
as they are written and pointed in the text : " Fabri enim
sunt ex hominibus :" " And the workmen, they are of men."
Out of which the commentators have not been able to ex-
tract any thing worthy of the Prophet. I have given an-
other explanation of the place ; agreeable enough to the
context, if it can be deduced from the words themselves. I
presume, that din*, rubiiit may signify eruhuit, to be red
through shame, as well as from any other cause ; though I
cannot produce any example of it in that particular sense :
and the word in the text I would point uynp ; or if any
one should object to the irregularity of the number, I would
read D'onxD. But I rather think, that the irregularity of
the construction has been the cause of the obscurity, and
has given occasion to the mistaken punctuation. The sin-
gular is sometimes put for the plural ; see Psal. Ixviii. 31. ;
and the participle for the future tense ; see Isa. Ix. 11.
12. — cutteth off — ] *iXJ»D, participium pihel of ny;r, to
cut ; still used in that sense in the Arabic. See Simonis
Lex. Heb. The LXX and Syr. take the word in this form ;
but they render it, sharpeneth the iron. See Castell. Lex.
in voce.
The sacred writers are generally large and eloquent upon
the subject of idolatry : they treat it with great severity, and
set forth the absurdity of it in the strongest liffht. But this
332 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLIV.
passage of Isaiah, ver. 12 — 20. far exceeds any thing that
ever was written upon the subject, in force of argument,
energy of expression, and elegance of composition. One
or two of the apocryphal writers have attempted to imitate
the Prophet, but with very ill success ; Wisd. xiii. 11 — 19.
XV. 7, &c. Baruch, chap. vi. ; especially the latter, who,
injudiciously dilating bis matter, and introducing a number
of minute circumstances, has very much weakened the force
and effect of his invective. On the contrary, a heathen au-
thor, in the ludicrous way, has, in a line or two, given idol-
atry one of the severest strokes it ever received : —
" Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum ;
Cum faber, incertus scamnum faceretne Priapum,
Maluit esse Deum." Herat.
14. He hewet/i down — ] For niDb, the LXX and Vulg.
read niD, or vr\2'.
16. A7id loith paj-t — ] Twenty-three MSS, LXX, and
Vulg. add the conjunction i, ^;,n.
18. — their eyes are closed np] The LXX, Chald. and
Vulg, for TO read )W- See note on chap. vi. 10.
20. Hefeedeth on ashes] He feedeth on that which af-
fordeth no nourishment: a proverbial expression for using
ineffectual means, and bestowing labour to no purpose. In
the same sense Hosea says, " Ephraim feedeth on wind,"
chap. xii. 1.
22. / have made thy transgressions vanish away like a
cloud, and thy sins like a vapour.] Longinus admired the
sublimity of the sentiment, as well as the harmony of the
numbers, in the following sentence of Demosthenes : Tovro
Te ^^KrfjLO, Toy roTE rv) ■zroXet iri^i^ccvloc kivovvov 7s-ix.^eX6in iTrotiicriv as-yrep
i£<P6i: " This decree made the danger then hanging over the
city pass away like a cloud."
24. by myself] Thirteen MSS (six ancient), confirm
the reading of the Keri, 'riNO.
27. Who sayeth to the deep, Be thou wasted] Cyrus took
Babylon by laying the bed of the Euphrates dry, and lead-
ing his army into the city by night through the empty chan-
nel of the river. This remarkable circumstance, in which
the event so exactly corresponded with the prophecy, was also
noted by Jeremiah :
" A drought shall be upon her waters, and they shall be dried up.
I will lay her sea dry ;
And I will scorch up her springs." Jer. 1. 38. li. 36.
CHAP. XLIV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 333
It is proper here to give some account of the means and
method by which the stratagem of Cyrus was effected.
The Euphrates in the middle of summer, from the melt-
ing of the snows on the mountains of Armenia, like the Nile,
overflows the country. In order to diminish the inundation,
and to carry off the waters, two canals were made by Neb-
uchadnezzar a hundred miles above the city ; the first on
the eastern side, called Naharmalca, or the royal river, by
which the Euphrates was let into the Tigris ; the other on
the western side, called Pallacopas, or Naharaga, (djn inj,
the river of the pool), by which the redundant waters Avere
carried into a vast lake, forty miles square, contrived not
only to lessen the inundation, but for a reservoir, with sluices,
to water the barren country on the Arabian side. Cyrus, by
turning the whole river into the lake b}' the Pallacopas, laid
the channel, where it ran through the city, almost dry ; so
that his army entered it, both above and below, by the bed
of the river, the water not reaching above the middle of the
thigh. By the great quantity of water let into the lake, the
sluices and dams were destroyed ; and being never repaired
afterward, the waters spread over the whole country below,
and reduced it to a morass, in which the river is lost. " In-
gens modo et navigabilis, inde tenuis rivus, despectus emori-
tur ; et nusquam manifesto exitu effluit, ut alii omnes, sed
deficit : " Mela, iii. 8. Herod, i. 185. 190. Xenophon. Cyrop.
vii. Arrian. vii.
28. Who sayeth to Cyrus, Thou art my shepherd] " Pas-
tor meus es : " Vulg. The true reading seems to be >}r\
nnx ; the word nn>< has probably been dropt out of the text.
The same word is lost out of the text, Psal. cxix. 57. It is
supplied in LXX by the word .-/.
Ibid, Who sayeth to Jerusalem] For nDN'?i, LXX and
Vulg. read naixn.
Ibid. — and to the temple] b2^nb), as D'7tyiTV before : the
preposition is necessary ; and the Vulgate seems to read so :
Houbigant.
CHAPTER XLV.
1. And ungird the loins of kings] See note on chap. v.
27. Xenophon gives the following list of the nations con-
quered by Cyrus : the Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cappa-
docians, both the Phrygians, Lydians, Carians, Phenicians,
334 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLV.
Babylonians. He moreover reigned over the Bactrians, In-
dians, Cilicians, the Sacee, Paphlagones, and Mariandyni :
Cyrop. lib. i. p. 4. edit. Hutchinson, 4to. All these king-
doms he acknowledges, in his decree for the restoration of
the Jews, to have been given to him by Jehovah, the God
of heaven : Ezra i. 2.
Ibid. That I may open before him the valves ; and the
gates shall not be shut.^ The gates of Babylon within the
city, leading from the streets to tiie river, were providentially
left open, when Cyrus's forces entered the city in the night
through the channel of the river, in the general disorder oc-
casioned by the great feast which was then celebrated ; other-
wise, says Herodotus, i. 191. the Persians would have been
shut up in the bed of the rivei", and taken as in a net, and
all destroyed : And the gates of the palace were opened im-
prudently by the king's orders, to inquire Avhat was the cause
of the tumult without ; when the two parties under Gobrias
and Gadatas rushed in, got possession of the palace, and
slew the king : Xenoph. Cyrop. vii. p. 528.
2. — the mountains — ] For D'lnn, a word not easily ac-
counted for in this place, the LXX read D"nn, rx o^n. Two
MSS have D'lnn, without the i ; which is hardly distinguish-
able from the reading of the LXX. The divine protection
which attended Cyrus, and rendered his expedition against
Babylon easy and prosperous, is finely expressed by God's
going before him, and making the mountains level. The
image is highly poetical :
" At vos, qua veniet, tumidi subsidite monies,
Et faciles curvis vallibus este vice." Ovid. Amor. ii. 16.
Ibid. The valves of brass — ] Abydenus, apud Euseb.
Praip. Evang. ix. 41. says, tliat the wall of Babylon had
brazen gales. And Herodotus, i. 179. more particularly :
'• In the wall all round there are a hundred gates, all of brass ;
and so in like manner are the sides and the lintels." The
gates likewise within the cit\', opening to the river from the
several streets, were of brass ; as were those also of the tem-
ple of Bel us : Id. i. 180, 1 SI.
3. I will give unto thee the treasures of darkricss] Sardes
and Babylon, when taken by Cyrus, were the wealthiest
cities in the world. Croesus, celebrated beyond all the kings
of that age for his riches, gave up his treasures to Cyrus,
with an exact account in writing of the whole, containing
the particulars with which each waggon was loaded, when
CHAP. XLV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 335
ihey were carried away ; and they were delivered to Cyrus
at the palace of Babylon : Xenoph. Cyrop. lib. vii. p. 503.
515. 540.
Pliny gives the following account of the wealth taken by
Cyrus in Asia. " Jam Cyrus devicta Asia, pondo xxxiv
millia [auri] invenerat ; praeter vasa aurea, aurumque fac-
tum, et in eo folia, ac platanum, vitemque. Q,ua victoria
argenti quingenta millia talentorum reportavit ; et craterem
Semiramidis, cujus pondus quindecim talenta colligebat.
Talentum autem jEgyptium pondo Ixxx patere [1. capere]
Varro tradit : " Nat. Hist, xxxiii. 15.
The gold and silver, estimated by weight in this ac-
count, being converted into pounds sterUng, amount to
£. 126,224,000 : Brerewood, De Ponderibus, cap. x.
7. Forming light, and creating darkness^ It was the
great principle of the Magian rehgion, which prevailed in
Persia in the time of Cyrus, and in which probably he was
educated, that there are two supreme, co-eternal, and inde-
pendent Causes, always acting in opposition one to the other ;
one the author of all good, the other of all evil ; the good Be-
ing they called Light ; the evil Being, Darkness : that, when
light had the ascendant, then good and happiness prevailed
among men ; when darkness had the superiority, then evil
and misery abounded : — an opinion that contradicts the
clearest evidence of our reason, which plainly leads us to the
acknowledgment of one only Supreme Being, infinitely good
as well as powerful. With reference to this absurd opinion,
held by the person to whom this prophecy is addressed, God
by his Prophet, in the most significant terms, asserts his om-
nipotence and absolute supremacy :
*' I am Jehovah, and none else;
Forming light, and creating darkness;
Making peace, and creating evil:
I Jehovah am the author of all these things."
Declaring, that those Powers whom the Persians held to
be the original authors of good and evil to mankind, repre-
senting them by light and darkness as their proper em-
blems, are no other than creatures of God, the instruments
which he employs in his government of the world, ordained
or permitted by him in order to execute his wise and just
decrees ; and that there is no Power, either of good or evil,
independent of the One Supreme God, infinite in power and
in goodness.
336 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLV.
There were, however, some among the Persians, whose
sentiments were more moderate as to this matter ; wlio held
the evil principle to be in some measure subordinate to the
good ; and that the former would at length be wholly sub-
dued by the latter: See Hyde, De Relig. Vet. Pers. cap.
xxii.
That this opinion prevailed among the Persians as early
as the time of Cyrus, we may, I think, infer, not only from
this passage of Isaiah, which has a manifest reference to it,
but hkewise from a passage in Xenophon's Cyropeedia,
where the same doctrine is applied to the human mind.
Araspes, a noble young Persian, had fallen in love with the
fair captive Pauthea, committed to his charge by Cyrus.
After all his boasting, that he was superior to the assaults of
that passion, he yielded so far to it, as even to threaten
violence, if she would not comply with his desires. Awed
by the reproof of Cyrus, fearing his displeasure, and having
by cool reflection recovered his reason ; in his discourse with
him on this subject he says, "O Cyrus, I have certainly
two souls ; and this piece of philosophy I have learned from
that wicked sophist Love. For if I had but one soul, it
would not be at the same time good and evil ; it would not
at the same time approve of honourable and base actions ;
and at once desire to do, and refuse to do, the very same
things. But it is plain, that I am animated by two souls ;
and when the good soul prevails, I do what is virtuous ; and
when the evil one prevails, I attempt what is vicious. But
now the good soul prevails, having gotten you for her as-
sistant, and has clearly gained the superiority :" Lib. vi.
p. 424.
8. Dropdown, O ye heavens — ] The eighty-fifth Psalm
is a very elegant ode on the same subject with this part of
Isaiah's prophecies — the restoration of Judah from captivity ;
and is, in the most beautiful part of it, a manifest imitation
of this passage of the Prophet : —
" Verily his salvation is nigh unto them that fear him,
That glory may dwell in our land.
Mercy and truth have met together ;
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Truth shall spring from the earth,
And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Even Jehovah will give that which is good,
And our land shall yield her produce.
CHAP. XLV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 337
Righteousness shall go before him,
And shall direct his footsteps in the way."
Psal. Ixxxv. 10—14. .
These images of the clew and the rain descending from
heaven, and making the earth fruitful, employed by the pro-
phet, and some of those nearly of the same kind which are
used by the Psalmist, may perhaps be primarily understood as
designed to set forth in a splendid manner the happy state
of God's people restored to their country, and flourishing
in peace and plenty, in piety and virtue : but justice and
salvation, mercy and tiiith. righteousnesss and peace, and
glory dwelling in the land, cannot with any sort of pro-
priety, in the one or the other, be interpreted as the conse-
quences of that event ; they must mean the blessings of the
great redemption by Messiah.
Ibid. — let salvation produce her fruit] For nD'i, the
LXX, Vulg. and Syr. read m3'i ; and a MS has a rasure
close after the letter i, which probably was n at first.
9. Wo unto him, that contendeth toith the power that
formed him,] The Prophet answers or prevents the objec-
tions and cavils of the unbelieving Jews, disposed to mur-
mur against God, and to arraign the wisdom and justice of
his dispensations in regard to them ; in permitting them to
be oppressed by their enemies, and in promising them de-
hverance instead of preventing their captivity. St Paul
has borrowed the image, and has applied it to the like pur-
pose with equal force and elegance : " Nay, but, O man !
who art thou that repliest against God ? Shall the thing
formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me
thus 7 Hath not the potter power over the clay, out of the
same lump to make on'e vessel to honour, and another to dis-
honour ?" Rom. ix. 20, 21.
Ibid. — and to the workmen, Thou hast no hands] The
Syr. renders as if he had read 1>T '?;;3 »n''n N^i, " Neither
am I the work of thy hands ;" the LXX, as if they had
read, "^^ Dn» j'Ni rhyisi s^Vi, " Neither hast thou made rae ;
and thou hast no hands." But the fault seems to be in the
transposition of the two pronouns : for ■j'Tj^iJi read "h^j^y;
and for iS read "f?. So Houbigant corrects it, reading
also ibijrsjbi ; which last correction seems not altogether
necessary. The LXX in MSS Pachom. and i. D. ii. have
it thus : XXI TO e^yovj ovk f;t"5 x^'S'^ > which favouFs the reading
here proposed.
34
338 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XJ.V,
11. Andhethatformeili the things which are to come] 1
read "lyvi, without the i suffixed, from the liXX, who join it
in construction with the following word ; o Traojo-at? t<« tTre^^of^tx.
Ibid. Do ye question me — ] " 'ji^Niyn, Chald. recte ;
praecedit n ; et sic forte legerunt reliqui Intt. :" Secker,
14. The wealth of Egypt — ] This seems to relate to the
future admission of the Gentiles into the church of God.
Compare Psal. Ixviii. 32. Ixxii. 10. chap. ix. 6 — 9. And
perhaps these particular nations may be named, by a me-
tonymy common in all poetry, for powerful and wealthy
nations in general. See note on chap. Ix. 1.
Ibid. The >Sabea7is tall of stature — ] That the Sabeans
were of a more majestic appearance than common, is par-
ticular y remarked by Agatharchides, an ancient Greek his-
torian quoted by Bochart, Phaleg. ii. 26. t« o-uf^ttrei ss-t rm
xotloMowluv ultoXoyuleqa.. So also the LXX understand it, ren-
dering it M^^ti o-^iiXoi. And the same phrase, m:^ 'lyw, i>
used for persons of extraordinary stature. Numb. xiii. 32.
and 1 Chron. xx. 6.
Ibid. — and in suppliant giiise — ] Tlie conjunction i \^
supphed by the ancient versions, and confirmed by fifteen
MSS (seven ancient), and six editions, ySxi. Three MSS
(two ancient), omit the i before ySx at the beginning of the
line.
16. They arc ashained — ] The reader cannot but ob-
serve the sudden transition from the solemn adoration of
the secret and mysterious nature of God's counsels, in re-
gard to his people, to the spirited denunciation of the con-
fusion of idolaters, and the final destruction of idolatry :
contrasted with the salvation of Israel, not from temporal
captivity. l)iit the eternal salvation by Messiah, strongly
marked by the repetition and augmentation of the phrase,
to the asi;es of eternity. But there is not only a sudden
change in the sentiment ; the change is equally observable
in the construction of the sentences ; which from the usual
short measure runs out at once into two distichs of the longer
sort of verse : See Prelim. Dissert, p. xli. &c. There is
another instance of the same kind, and very like to this, of
a sudden transition in regard both to the sentiment and
construction in chap. xlii. 17.
Ibid. — his adversaries, all of them.] 'J'his line, to the
great diminution of the beauty of the distich, is imperfect
in the present text ; the subject of the proposition is not
CHAP. XLV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 339
particularly expressed, as it is in the line following. Tlie
version of the LXX happily supplies the word that is lost ;
ot uvTixeif^ivoi uvrqi: the original word was vii'.
18. — -foi' he fornieth it to he inhabited] An ancient ,. S
has o before r\2\yb; and so the ancient versions.
19. / have not spoken in secret^ in a dark place of the
earth] In opposition to the manner in which the heatl^eu
oracles gave their answers ; which were generally delivered
from some deep and obscure cavern. Such was the seat ol'
the Cumean Sybil:
" Excisum Euboicae latus ingens rupis in antrum."
Virg. ^n. vi. 42.
Such was that of the famous oracle at Delphi : of which,
says Strabo, lib. 9. <Pxa-i ^' eivxt to f-uc/lsiov mt^ov xoiMv f^flx (iu6ovi,
ov f^xXcc sv^vrofMv: " The oracle is said to be a hollow cavern
of considerable depth, with an opening not very wide.'"
And Diodorus, giving an account of the origin of this oracle,
says. " that there was in that place a great chasm, or cleft,
in the earth : in which very place is now situated what is
called the Adytum of the temple." A^vler a-TmXtitov, v to xtfok^v-
(pov f^c^oi Tov li^ov : Hesych. " Adytum means a cavern, or
the hidden part of the temple.''
Ibid. / am Jeho VAH, who speak truth, who give direct
answe?^s.] This also is said in opposition to the false and
ambiguous answers given by the heathen oracles ; of which
there are many noted examples ; none more so than that
of the answer given to Croesus, when he had marched against
Cyrus, which piece of history has some connexion w ih
this part of Isaiah's prophecies. Let us hear Cicero's account
of the Delphic answers in general, and of this in particular.
" Sed jam ad te venio,
O Sancte Apollo, qui umbilicum certum terrarum obsides,
Unde superstitiosa primum saeva evasit vox fera.
Tuis enim oraculis Chrysippus totum volumen implevit,
partim falsis, ut ego opinor ; partim casu veris, ut fit in
omni oratione ssepissime ; partim tiexiloquis et obscuris, ut
interpres egeat interprete, et sors ipsa ad sortes referenda
sit ; panim ambiguis, et qute ad dialecticum deferenda sint.
Nam cum sors ilia edita est opulentissimo regi Asiae,
Croesus Halym penetrans magnam pervertet opum vim:
hostium vim sese perversurum putavit ; pervertit autem
suam. Utrum igitur eorum accidisset, verum oraculum
fuisset :" Do Divinat. ii. 56.
340 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLV.
21. — bring them 7icar, and let thetn, consult together] For
)W, let them consult, the LXX read i;n', let them know ;
but an ancient MS has n;'v, " let them come together by
appointment ;" which may probably be the true reading.
23. — truth is gone forth from my mouth ; The irord — ]
So the LXX distinguish the members of the sentence ; pre-
serving the elegance of the construction, and the clearness
of the sense.
24. iSaj/ifig, Only to Jehovah — ] A MS omits ♦% unto
me ; and instead of idn *S, he said or shall say unto one,
the LXX read, in the copy which they used, "loxb, saying.
For X3', he shall come, in the singular, twelve MSS (three
ancient) read ind% plural ; and a letter is erased at the end
of the word in two others : and so the Alexandrine copy of
the LXX, Syr. and Vulg. read it. For nipnv, plural, two
MSS read npn:f, singular ; and so LXX, Syr. Chald.
CHAPTER XLVL
1. Their burthens are heavy] For QD'nxtyj, yoirr bur-
thens, the LXX had in their copy on^nxii'J, their burthens.
2. They could not deliver their oicn cliarge] That is,
their w^orshippers ; who ought to have been borne by them.
See the two next verses. The Chaldee and Syriac versions
render it in effect to the same purpose, j)ortantcs se, those
that bear them, meaning their W'orshippers ; but how they
can render nk/d in an active sense, I do not understand.
Ibid. Even they themselves — ] For Dsyaji, an ancient MS
has Dty2i ♦D, v/iih more force.
3 — 7. Ye that have been borne by ine from, the birth — j
The Prophet very ingeniously, and with great force, con-
trasts the power of God, and his tender goodness effectually
exerted towards his people, with the inability of the false
gods of the heathen : He like an indulgent father had car-
ried his people in his arms, '•' as a man carrieth his son ; "
l^cut. i. 31. ; he had protected them, and delivered ihem from
their distresses : whereas the idols of the heathen are forced
to Ije carried about themselves, and removed from place to
place, with great labour and fatigue, by their worshippers ;
nor can they answer, or deliver their votaries, Avlien ihey cry
unto them.
Moses, expostulating with God on the weight of the
CHAP. XLVI. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 341
charge laid upon him as leader of his people, expresses thai
charge, under the same image of a parent's carrying his
children, in very strong terms : " Have I conceived all this
people ? have I begotten them ? that thou shouldest say unto
me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth
the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto
their fathers ;" Numb. xi. 12.
Pindar has treated with a just and very elegant ridicule
the work of the statuary, even in comparison with his own
poetry, from this circumstance of its being fixed to a certain
station. " The friends of Pytheas, says the Scholiast, came
to the poet, desiring him to write an ode on his victory. Pin-
dar demanded three drachms [mince, I suppose it should be)
for the ode. No, say they, we can have a brazen statue
for that money, which will be better than a poem. However,
changing their minds afterwards, they came and offered him
what he had demanded." This gave him the hint of the follow-
ing ingenious exordium of his ode : —
Ovx. uv^^ietvToTToiei €1/4.^
'lis"' e>i.ivvr<ro)iTiii /ia' e^yu^cr-
6x1 ccyxX/^MT^ £5r' xvTxg ^xStct^ei
OAk£«oo5, f» r' uxMTw,
Xrotx' «t' Atyiycci ^layyiX-
Aotc' oT< AeifMravoi vieg
NiKVi tief*.ei6ii vayyc^aria fe^«v»y. Nem. Y.
Thus elegantly translated bv Mr Francis in a note to Hor.
Carm. iv. 2. 19.
" It is not mine with forming hand
To bid a lifeless image stand
For ever on its base:
But fly, my verses, and proclaim
To distant realms, with deathless fame,
That Pytheas conquered in the rapid race."
Jeremiah seems to be indebted to Isaiah for most of the fol-
lowing passage : —
"The practices of the people are altogether vanity;
For they cut down a tree from the forest;
The work of the artificer's hand with the axe:
With silver and with gold it is adorned;
With nails and with hammers it is fastened, that it may nottotter.
Like the palm-tree they stand stiff", and cannot speak;
34*
U2
NOTES OK ISAIAH. CHAP. XLVI.
Tiloy are carried about, for they cannot go :
Fear them not, for they cannot do harm,
Neither is it in them to do good." Jer. x. 3 — 5.
8. — slieii) yourselves men] icyiyNnn. This word is rath-
er of doubtful derivation and signification. It occurs only in
this place ; and some of the ancient interpreters seem to have
Jiad something different in their copies. Vulg. read iii/tj^nnn,
take shame to yourselves ; Syr. ujnnn, consider with your-
selves; LXX, s-£v«|eT£; perhaps iS^xnn, groan, or mourn,
within yourseh'cs.
11. Callmg from the east the eagle] A very proper em-
blem for Cyrus, as in other respects, so particularly i;ecuubc
the ensign of Cyrus was a golden eagle, AETOS ptj^wc-ons ; the
very word D'j*, which the Prophet uses here, expressed as near
as may be in Greek letters. Xenoph. Cyrop. hb. vii. sub.
init.
Ibid. And from a land] Two MSS add the conjunctioi!
1, p«?:3i; and so LXX, Syr. Vulg.
CHAPTER XLVII.
i. Descend, and sit on the dust — ] See note on chap. iii.
26. and on chap. Iii. 2.
2. Take the mill, and grind the coni\ It was the woi k
of slaves to grind the corn. They used hantlmills : water-
mills were not invented till a little before the time of Augus-
tus ; (see the Greek epigram of Antipater, which seems to
celebrate it as a new invention : Anthol. Cephala, 053.):
wind-mills, long after. It was not only the work of slaves,
but the hardest work ; and often inllicted on them as a se-
vere punishment.
" Molendum in pistrino; vapulandum: habendae compedes."
Terent. Phormio, ii. 1. 19.
"■ Ilominem pistrino dignumi" Id. Heaut. iii. 2. ID.
But in the East it was the work of the female slaves. See
Exod. xi. 5. xii. 29. (in the version of the LXX), Matt.
xxiv. 41. Homer. Odyss. xx. 105 — 108. Audit is the same
to this day : " Women alone are emploved to grind their
corn ;" Shaw, Algiers ami Tunis, p. 297. " They are the
female slaves that are generally employed in the east ;ii
those hand-mili« [for grinding corn]: it is extremely laborious,
and esteemed tlic lowest employment in the house:" ^ir .1.
Chardin, Harmer's 01)serv. i. p. 153.
CHAP. XLVII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 343
2. / will not suffer man to intercede'] The verb sliould
be pointed, or written, >"j£}N, in Hiphil.
4. Our avenger — •] Here a chorus breaks in upon the
midst of the subject ; with a change of construction, as well
as sentiment, from the longer to the shorter kind of verse,
for one distich only ; after which the former subject and style
is resumed. See note on xlv. 16.
6. / was angry with my 'people — ] God, in the coarse of
his providence, makes use of great conquerors and tyrants as
his instiuments to execute his judgments in the earth : he
employs one wicked nation to scourge another. The inflic-
. tor of the punishment may perhaps be as culpable as the
sufferer : and may add to his guilt by indulging his cruelty
in executing God's justice. When he has fulfilled the work
to which the divine vengeance has ordained him, he will be-
come himself the object of it. See chap. x. 5 — 12. God
charges the Babylonians, though employed by himself t<;
chastise his people, with cruelty in legard to them. They
exceeded the bounds of justice and humanit}' in oppressing
and destroying them ; and though they were really executing
the righteous decree of God, yet, as far as it regarded them-
selves, they were only indulging their own ambition and
violence. The Prophet Zechariah sets this matter in the
same light : " I was but a little angry, and the}^ helped foi-
ward the affliction ; " chap. i. 1-5.
7. Because thou didst not — ] For •\y read V;* ; so two
MSS, and one edition. And for nn'inx, the latter end q/" i/^,
lead innnK, thy latter end : so thirteen MSS, and two edi-
tions, and Vulg.
9. Oil a sudden — ] Instead of odhd, in their perfection,
as our translation renders it, the LXX and Syr. read, in the
copies from which they translated, dnds, suddenly ; parallel
to;rai, iu a moment, in the preceding alternate member of
the sentence. The concurrent testimony of LXX and Syr.,
lavoured by the context, may be safely opposed to the authoi-
ity of the present text.
Ibid. Notwithstanding the midtitude — ] ai3, for this
sense of the particles, see Numb. xiv. 11.
11. — hoiu to deprecate] mriB' : so the Chaldee renders
it ; which is approved by Jarchi on the place, and Michaelis
Epim. in Preelect. xix. ; see Psal. Ixxviii. 34.
Ibid. '• Videtur in fine [hujus commatis] deesse verbum ut
hoc membrum prioribus respondeat : " Secker.
344 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLVII-
In order to set in a proper light this judicious remark, it is
necessary to give the reader an exact verbal translation of tlie
whole verse : —
*' And evil shall come upon thee, thou shall not know how to
deprecate it;
And mischief shall fall upon thee, thou shalt not be able to
expiate it;
And destruction shall come suddenly upon thee, thou shalt
not know "
What ? how to escape, to avoid it, to be delivered from it ;
(perhaps nJOD nxy, Jer. xi. 11.) I am persuaded, that a
phrase is here lost out of the text. But as the ancient ver-
sions retain no traces of it., and a wide field lies open to un-
certain conjecture, I have not attempted to fill up the chasm ;
1)ut have in the translation, as others have done before me,
palliated and disguised the defect, which 1 cannot with any
assurance pretend to supply.
13. What are the events — ] For ityXD, read it&'N no ;
so the LXX.
15. — to his own business] n^;?'?. Expositors give no
very good account of this word in this place. In a MS it was
at first n3;rV, which is probably the true reading. The sense
however is pretty much the same with the common inter-
pretation.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
1. Ye that flow from the fountain of Judah] 'DO, from
the waters. " Perhaps 'j^nD, from the bowels , [so many
others have conjectured], or [mirr] 'Jd, or miniD,/ro?/i Ju-
dah : " Secker. But see Michaelis in Preelect. not. 22.
^ And we have 2py' yy, the fountain of Jacob, Deut. xxxiii. 28.
*j- and ^KiK/' iipoo, from the )^x)untain of Israel, Psal. Ixviii. 27.
V Twenty-seven MSS, and three editions, have 'o'o, from the
days ; which makes no good sense.
6. — behold, the tohole is accomplished] For nrn, see, a
MS has nin, this ; thou hast heard the whole of this : the
Syriac has n'lm, thou hast heard, and thou hast seen, the
whole. Perhaps it should be n^n, behold. In order to ex-
press the full sense, I have rendered it somewhat.|j^araphras-
tically. y
9. And for the sake of my praise] I read 'n^nn j;;d^i.
The word jj^d"?, though not absolutely necessary here, for
CHAP. XLVIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 345
it may be understood as supplied from the preceding mem-
ber, yet seems to have been removed from hence to ver. 11. :
where it is redundant, and where it is not repeated, in LXX.
Syr. and a MS. I have therefore omitted it in the latter
place, and added it here.
10. I have tried thee — ] Forynim, I have c/t05e;i thee,
a MS has "jTUn^, I have tried thee. And so perhaps read
the Syriac and Chaldee interpreters : they retain the same
w^ord imn3 ; but in those languages it signifies. I have tried
thee. ^ODD, quasi argentum, Vulg.
11. for ]iow would tny name he blasphemed ?] The word
.'Diy, my name, is dropt out of the text : it is supplied by a
MS which has ^Dty ; and by LXX, on to e(Mv otof/.u. PiiQ^xhtm,
The Syr. and Vulg. get over the difficulty, by making the
verb in the first person, that I may not he hlasphemed.
12. — O Jacob, my servant^ After ap;?"', a MS, and the
two old editions of 1486 and 1488, add the word ri3;», which
is lost out of the present text ; and there is a rasure in its
place in another ancient MS. The Jerusalem Talmud hag
the same word.
Ibid. For 'jx f]X, even I, two ancient MSS, and the ancient
versions, read 'jxi, and I ; more properly.
14. Who among you — ] For nn:!, among them, twenty-
one MSS (nine ancient), and two editions (one of theni
that of the year 1488), have ddd, among you ; and so the
Syriac.
Ibid. He, lohom Jehovah hath loved, ivill execute] That
is, Cyrus : so Symmachus has well rendered it ; 'o» o Kv^ioc
yiyxTVijij-ij TToiYiO'ii to SsXiiyM uvrov.
Ibid. — on the Chaldeans] The preposition is lost ; it is
supplied in the edition of 1486, which has U'"W2'2; and so
Chald. and Vulg.
16. Draw near unto me, and hear ye this ] After the
word '\T\T!^ draw near, a MS .«'dds d'U, O ye nations ;
which, as this and the two preceding verses are plainly ad-
dressed to the idolatrous nations, reproaching their gods as
unable to predict future events, is probably genuine.
Ibid. — and hear — ] A MS adds the conjunction, y;m>M
and so LXX, Syr. Vulg.
Ibid. -^ have not spoken in secret] The Alexandrine
copy, of lyKX adds here, Ovh ev roTtCfi yya a-y/irnvai, nor in a darl:
place ofjne earth, as in xlv. 19. That it stands rightly, oi
at least stood very early, in this place of the version of the
346 XOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLVIII.
LXX, is highly probable ; because it is acknowledged by
the Arabic version, and by the Coptic, MS St Germain
de Prez, Paris, translated likewise from the LXX. But
^ whether it should be inserted as of right belonging to the
; Hebrew text, may be doubted ; for a transcriber of the Greek
1 version might easily add it by memory from the parallel
■ place ; and it is not necessary to the sense.
Ibid. — lolteti it began to exist] An ancient MS has Dm*M,
they began to exist : and so another had it at first.
Ibid. I had decreed it\ I take \y^ for a verb, not an ad-
verb.
Ibid. And now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and his
*Spi7'it^ T/? £5-(v 0 £V ra> Hg-mx Xeyuv j kxv vhv Kv^ioi UTrereiXs f^B x.xi
vo Ilnvfycu, XVT6V' IV cti ccfjU!ptQe>Xcv evre; rov pyirov, Trore^ov o IIxtt)^ kcci to
Ay lev nv£Vfi.» UTri^-ciXctv rov ItjirotiVy t} o n«Tjj^ «7r£s-£'/\e rov re X^t^ov y.xi
TO ' Ayiov Ilvevf^x' tb hvre^ov eriv aXtiSa: " Who is it that saith
in Isaiah, And now the Lord hath sent me and his Spirit?
in which, as the expression is ambiguous, is it the Father
and the Holy Spirit who hath sent Jesus ; or the Father
who hath sent both Christ and the Holy Spirit? The latter
is the true interpretation : " Origen. cont. Cels. lib. i. I have
kept to the order of the words of the original, on purpose
that the ambiguity, which Origen remarks in the version of
LXX, and which is the same in the Hebrew, might still re-
jnain, and the sense which he gives to it be oflered to the
reader's judgment ; which is wholly excluded in our vulgar
translation.
IS. like the river] That is, the Euphrates.
19. — like that of the bowels thereof] u*r\ 'i^d 'N^fNi'D nni
□'J^n : " As the issue of the bowels of the sea; that is, the
fishes ; " Salom. b. Melee. And so likewise Aben Ezra.
Jarchi, Kimchi, &c.
Iljid. Thy name] For idu', his name, the LXX had in
the copy from which they translated ■jok', thy name.
20. — and make it heard — ] Twenty-seven MSS (ten
ancient), and one edition, prefix to the verb the conjunction i,
21. They thirsted not in the deserts — ] Kimchi has a
surprising observation upon this place : " If the prophecy, '
.says he, " relates to the return from the Babylonish captivity,
as it seems to do, it is to bo wondered how it comes to pass,
that in the l)ook of Ezra, in which he gives an account of
their return, no tnention is made that such miracles were
CHAP. XLVIII. NOTES' ON ISAIAli, 3^47'
wrought for them ; as, for instance, that God clave the
rock for them in the desert." It is really much to be won-
dered, that one of the most learned and judicious of the
Jewish expositors of the Old Testament, havino; advanced
so far in a large comment on Isaiah, should appear to be
totally ignorant of the Prophet's manner of writing ; of the
parabolic style which prevails in the writings of all the
Prophets ; and more particularly in the Prophecy of Isaiah,
which abounds throughout in parabohc images from the
beginning to the end ; from " Hear, O heavens, and give
ear, O earth," to " the worm and the fire " in the last verse.
And how came he to keep his wonderment to himself so
long ? Why did he not expect, that the historian should
liave related, how, as they passed through the desert, cedars,
pines, and olive-trees, shot up at once on the side of the
way to shade them ; and that, instead of briers and brambles,
the accacia and the myrtle sprung up under their feet, ac-
cording to God's promises, chap. xli. 19. and Iv. 13. ? These.
and a multitude of the like parabolical or poetical images,
were never intended to be understood literally : all that
the Prophet designed in this place, and which lie has exe-
cuted in the most elegant manner, was an amplification and
illustration of the gracious care and protection of God,
vouchsafed to his people in their return from Babylon, by
an allusion to the miraculous Exodus from Egypt. See
De S. Poesi Hebr. Prsel. ix.
22 There is no peace, saitli JehovaHi to the wicked.]
See below, note on chap. Ivii. 21.
CHAPTER XLIX.
1. Heaj'ken unto me, O ye distant lands — ] Hitherto
the subject of the prophecy has been chiefly confined to the
redemption from the captivity of Babylon ; with strong in-
timations of a more important deliverance sometimes thrown
in ; to the refutation of idolatry ; and the demonstration of
the infinite power, wisdom, and foreknowledge of God. The
character and office of the Messiah was exhibited in gene-
ral terms at the beginning of chap. xlii. but here he is in-
troduced in person, declaring the full extent of his commis-
sion ; which is not only to restore the Israelites, and recon-
cile them to their Lord and Father, from whom they had
548 NOTES ON ISAIAH.
CHAP. XLIX.
SO often revoked ; but to be a light to lighten the Gentiles^,
to call them to the knowledge and obedience of the true God.
and to bring them to be one church together wtih the Israel-
ites, and to partake with them of the same common salvation
procured for all by the great Redeemer and Reconciler of man
to God.
2. And he hath tiiade my mouth a sharp sword — ] The
servant of God, who speaks in the former part of this chap-
ter, must be the i>Iessiah. If any part of this character
can, in any sense, belong to the Prophet, yet in some parts
it must belong exclusively to Christ; and, in all parts, to
him in a much fuller and more proper sense. Isaiah's
mission was to the Jews, not to the distant nations, to whom
the speaker in this place addresses himself. " He hatli
made my mouth a sharp sword," " to reprove the wicked,
and to denounce unto them punishment," says Jarchi, un-
derstanding it of Isaiah ; but how much better docs it suit
him, who is represented as having "a sharp two-edged
sword going out of his mouth," Rev. i. 16. who is himself
the Word of God ? which " Word is quick and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and
marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart ;" Heb. iv. 12. This mighty agent and instrument
oi God, " long laid up in store with him, and sealed up
among his treasures," is at last revealed, and produced by
his power, and under his protection, to execute his great
and holy purposes : he is compared to a polished shaft
stored in his quiver for use in his due time. The polished
shaft denotes the same efficacious word, which is before
represented by the sharp sword. The doctrine of the gos-
pel pierced the hearts of its hearers, " bringing into capti-
vity every thought to the obedience of Christ." The meta-
phor of the sword and the arrow, applied to powerful speech,
is bold, yet just. It has been employed by the most inge-
nious heathen writers, if with equal elegance, not with equal
force. It is said of Pericles by Aristophanes, (see Cicero.
Epist. ad Atticum, xii, 6.) —
To Kcvr^ov tyx.xTiXd'Tn rm ccK^oaif^-ivoti. Apud Diod. lib. xii.
His powerful speech
Pierced the hearer's soul, and left behind
Deep in his bosom its keen point inlixt.
CHAP. XLIX. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 349
Pindar is particularly fond of this metaphor, and frequently
applies it to his own poetry : —
'E'>re)^$ vvv tkottcu ro^av^
Aye, .%u.e. rivx ^ctXXof^a
i£vr£?3 Olymp. ii, 160.
'" Come on! thy brightest shafts prepare,
And bend, O Muse, thy sounding bow;
Say, through what paths of liquid air
Our arrows shall we throw?" West.
See also ver. 149. of the same ode, and Olymp. ix. 17.; on
the former of which places the Scholiast says, t^ottikoi; o Myoi-
^s>\3i as T«t/5 Myavi ei^tjice, oiot to o\v x«< km^iov tmv sytcMf^iuy : " He
calls his verses shafts by a metaphor, signifying' the acuteness
and the apposite application of his panegyric."
This person who is, ver. 3. called Israel, cannot in any sense
be Isaiah. That name, in its original design and full import,
can only belong to him who contended powerfully with
God in behalf of mankind, and prevailed : Gen. xxxii.
28.
5. And now thus saith Jehovah] The word n3, before
"1DN, is dropt out of the text : it is suppUed by eight MSS (two
ancient), and LXX, Syr. Vulg.
Ibid. And that Israel unto him may he gathered] FiveMSS
(two ancient), confirm the Keri, or marginal correction of
the Masoretes, iS, unto him, instead of vh; not, in the text ; and
so read Aquila and Chald.: LXX and Arab, omit the nega-
tive. But LXX, MSS Pachom. and i. D. ii. express also
the Ktri i'? by 5T-f«? ccvrev.
6. And to restore the branches of Israel] 'n':f:, or 'ii^fj,
as the Masoretes correct it in the marginal reading. This
word has been matter of great doubt with interpreters : the
Syriac renders it the branch, taking it for the same with n^j,
chap. xi. 1.: see Michaelis, Epim. in Praelect. xix.
7. The Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One] " Forte, it^np'? j"
Secker : that is, to his Holy One. The preceding word ends
with a S, which might occasion that letter's being lost here.
The Talmud of Babylon has lu/npi.
Ibid. To him, whose person is despised] " Forte, ni3J ;" Sec-
ker : or ^nn, Le Clerc : that is, instead of the active, the pas-
sive form, which seems here to be required.
35
350 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLIX.
9. And to those that are in darkness — j Fifteen MSS
(five ancient), and the two old editions of 1486 and 1488, add
the conjunction i at the beginning of this member : another
MS had it so at first ; and two others have a rasure at the
pla(^e : and it is expressed by LXX, Syr. Chald. Vulg.
12. Lo! and these shall come from afar] " Babylon was far,
and east, mroo; (non sic Vett.); Sinim, Pelusians, to the south:"
Secker.
Ibid, — the land of Sinim,] Prof. Deoderlein thought of
Syene, the southern limit of Egypt ; but does not abide by
it. Michaelis thinks it is right ; and promises to give his
reasons for so thinking in the second part of his Specilegium
Geographic Hebreeorum Exterse. See Biblioth. Oriental.
Part XI. p. 176.
13. Ye mountains burst forth] Three ancient MSS are
without either the ', or the conjunction i, before the verb : and
so LXX, Syr. Vulg.
16. Behold, on the jj alms of my hands have I delineated thee]
This is certainly an allusion to some practice, common among
the Jews at that time, of making marks on their hands or arms
by punctures on the skin, with some sort of sign or representa-
tion of the city or temple, to shew their affection and zeal for
it. They had a method of making such punctures indelible
by fire, or by staining. See note on chap. xliv. 5. It is well
known, that the pilgrims at the holy sepulchre get themselves
marked in this manner with what are called the ensigns of
Jerusalem ; Maundrell, p. 75.; where he tells us how it is
performed : and this art is practised by travelling Jews all over
the world at this day.
17. They that destroyed thee shall soon become thy builders]
" Auctor Vulgatse pro n'^^ videtur legisse .^'Jiia, unde vertit,
structorcs tui; cui et LXX fere consentiunt, qui verterunt
aiM^oi^hi, ccdificata es. prout in Plantiniana editione habetur ;
in Vaticana sive Romana legitur, otM^of^y)6i)a-y), icdificabcris.
Hisce etiam Targum Jouathanis aliquatenus consentit, ubi,
et cedificahunt. Confer infra Esai. cap. liv. ver. 13. ad quern
locum Rabbiiii (luoque notarunt ex tractatu Talmudico Bera-
chot. cap. ix. quod non legendum sit .yJD, id est, fUi tui ; sed
•^liy (tdificatores tui. Confer not. ad librum Free. Jud. Part.
IL p. 226. ut et D. Wagenscil Sot. p. 253. n. 9.:" Breith-
aupt. not. ad Jarchi in loc. See also note on this place in De
Sac. Poes. Hebr. Pralect. xxxi.
CHAP. XLIX. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 351
Ibid. — shall become thine offspring] iN2f' yyo, shall
proceed, spring-, issue, from ihee, — as thy children. The
phrase is frequently used in this sense : see chap. xi. 1.
Micah V. 2. Nahum i. 11. The accession of the Gentiles
to the church of God is considered as an addition made to
the number of the family and children of Sion : see ver. 21 ,
22. and chap. Ix. 4. The common rendering, "shall go
forth of thee, or depart from thee," is very flat, after their
zeal had been expressed by " shall become thy builders ; "
and as the opposition is kept up in one part of the sentence,
one has reason to expect it in the other, which should have
been parallel to it.
IS. And hind them about thee, as a bride — ] The end
of the sentence is manifestly imperfect. Does a bride bind
her children, or her new subjects, about her ? Sion clothes
herself with her children, as a bride clothes herself — ^with
what? some other thing certainly. The LXX help us out
in this difficulty, and supply the lost word : a? hot/mv wf^^pn-
ri->3 n''?D3, or n>'73 nb^D. The great similitude of the
two words has occasioned the omission of one of them. See
chap. Ixi. 10.
21. — these then, where were they'?] The conjunction is
added before n'7N, that is, n^Ni, in above thirty MSS (nine
ancient) ; and so LXX, Chald. Vulg.
23. With their faces to the earth — ] It is well known,
that expressions of submission, homage, and reverence, al-
ways have been, and are still, carried to a great degree of
extravagance in the eastern countries. When Joseph's
brethren were introduced to him, " they bowed down them-
selves before him with their faces to the earth ; " Gen. xlii. 6.
The kings of Persia never admitted any one to their pre-
sence without exacting this act of adoration ; for that was
the proper term for it. " Necesse est," says the Persian
courtier to Conon, " si in conspectum veneris, venerari te
regem ; quod Tr^oa-nvmv illi vocant ; " Nepos in Conone. Alex-
ander, intoxicated with success, affected this piece of oriental
pride : " Itaque more Persarum Macedonas venerabundos
ipsum salutare, prosternentes humi corpora : " Curtius, lib.
viii. The insolence of eastern raonarchs to conquered prin-
ces, and the submission of the latter, is astonishing. Mr.
Harmer, Obs. ii. 43. gives the following instance of it from
D'Herbelot ; — " This prince threw himself one day on the
ground, and kissed the prints that his victorious enemy's
352
NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. XLIX.
horse had made there ; reciting some verses in Persian,
which he had composed, to this effect : —
" The mark that the foot of your horse has left upon the
dust, serves me now for a crown.
" The ring, which I wear as the badge of my slavery, is
Ijecome my richest ornament.
" While I shall have the happiness to kiss the dust of your
feet, I shall tiiink that fortune favours me with its tenderest
caresses, and its sweetest kisses."
These expressions, therefore, of the Propliet, are only
general poetical images, taken from the manners of the
country, to denote great respect and reverence : and such
splendid poetical images, which frequently occur in the pro-
phetical writings, were intended only as general amplifica-
tions of the subject, not as predictions to be understood and
fulfilled precisely according to the letter.
24. Shall the prey seized by the terrible be rescued ?] For
pn:£ read 'fV- A palpable mistake, like that in chap,
xlii. 10. The correction is self-evident from the very terms
of the sentence ; from the necessity of the strict correspond-
ence in the expressions between the question and the answer
made to it ; and it is apparent to the blindest and most pre-
judiced eye. However, if authority is also necessary, there
is that of Syr. and Vulg. for it ; who plainly read yny m
the 24tli as well as in the 25th verse, rendering it in the
former place by the same woid as in the latter.
CHAPTER L.
1. Where is this bill — ] Husbands, through moroseness
or levity of temper, often sent bills of divorcement to their
wives on slight occasions, as they were permitted to do by
the law of Moses, Deut. xxiv. 1. And fathers, being op-
pressed with debt, often sold their children ; which they
might do, for a time, till the year of release : Exod, xxi. 7.
That this was frequently practised, appears from many
passages of Scripture ; and that the persons and the liberty
of the children were answerable for the debts of the father.
The widow, 2 Kings iv. 1. complains, " that the creditor is
come to take unto him her two sons to be bondmen." And
in the parable, Matt, xviii. 25. " The lord, forasmuch as
Jiis servant had not to pay, commands him to be sold, and
CHAP. L. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 353
his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to
be made." Sir John Chardin's MSS note on this place of
Isaiah is as follows : " En Orient, on paye ses dettes avec
ses esclaves, car ils sont des principaux meubles ; et en plu-
sieurs lieux on les paye aussi de ses enfans." But this, saith
God, cannot be my case : I am not governed by any such
motives ; neither am I urged by any such necessity : your
captivity, therefore, and your afflictions, are to be imputed to
yourselves, and to your own folly and wickedness.
2. Their Jish is dried up^ For tyx^n, stinketh, read ty3'n,
is dried up : so it stands in the Bodleian MS, and it is con-
firmed by the LXX, |uf«vtf)}(ravT«<.
5. Neither did I withdraw — ] Eleven MSS, and the
oldest edition, prefix the conjunction i ; and so also LXX
and Syr.
6. And my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair] The
greatest indignity that could possibly be offered. See note
on chap. vii. 20.
Ibid. My face I hid not from shame and spitting] Anoth-
er instance of the utmost contempt and detestation. It was
ordered by the law of Moses, as a severe punishment, carry-
ing with it a lasting disgrace : Deut. xxv. 9. Among the
Medes, it was highly offensive to spit in any one's presence,
Herod, i. 99. ; and so likewise among the Persians, Xeno-
phon. Cyrop. lib. i. p. 18.
" They abhor me; they flee far from me;
They forbear not to spit in my face." Job. xxx. 10.
And Jehovah said unto Moses : " If her father had but spit
in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days ? " Numb,
xii. 14. ; on which place Sir John Chardin remarks, " that
spitting before any one, or spitting upon the ground in
speaking of any one's actions, is through the East an expres-
sion of extreme detestation : " Harmer's Observ. ii. 509.
See also, of the same notions of the Arabs in this respect,
Niebuhr, Description de I'Arabie, p. 26. It so evidently
appears, that in those countries spitting has ever been an
expression of the utmost detestation, that the learned doubt
whether in the passages of Scripture above quoted, any thing
more is meant than spitting (not in the face, which perhaps
the words do not necessarily imply, but only) in the presence
of the person affronted. But in this place it certainly means
spitting in the face : so it is understood in St Luke, where
our Lord plainly refers to this prophecy : — " AH things that
35*
354 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. L,
are written by the Prophets concerning tlie Son of Man shall
be accomphshed ; for he shall be delivered to the Gentiles,
and sliall be mocked and spitefully entreated, and spitted on,
£^5r7f5-t')!5-;-7a6(," xviii. 31, 32. ; which was in fact fullilled ; y-Mi
!)f|«»Ta T<v£5 ifM^lvii') xvlai, Mark xiv. (3.5. xv. 19. If spitting in
a person's presence was such an indignity, how much more
spitting in his face?
7. Therefore have I set my face as a flint — ] The Pro-
phet Ezekiel has expressed this with great force, in his bold
and vehement manner :
" Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces,
And thy forehead strong against their foreheads :
As an adamant, harder than a rock, have I made thy fore-
head.
Fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks.
Though they be a rebellious house."' Ezek. hi. 8. 9.
8. Who is he that will contend — ] The Bodleian MS, and
another, add the word xin ; n'T Nin 'n, as in the like phrase
in the next verse : and in the very same phrase, Job xiii. 19.,
and so likewise in many other places, Job xvii. 3. xli. 1.
Sometimes, on the like occasions, it is n; 'd, and ni Nin 'o.
The word has been probably lost out of the present text :
and the reading of the MS above-mentioned seems to be
genuine.
10. Let him hearken to the voice of his servant.] For
yov, pointed as the participle, the LXX and Syr. read ;'Oki>,
future or impeiative : this gives a much more elegant turn
and distribution to the sentence.
11. — ye who kindle afire — ] The fire of their own kind-
ling, by the light of which they walk with security and satis-
faction, is an image designed to express, in general, liuman
devices, and mere worldly policy, exclusive of faith and trust
in God ; which, though they flatter them for a while with
pleasing expectations and some appearance of success, shall
in the end turn to the confusion of the authors. Or, more
particularly, as Vitringa explains it, it may mean the designs
of the turbulent and factious Jews in the times succeeding
those of Christ; who, in pursuit of their own desperate
schemes, stirred up the war against the llomans, and kindled
a fire wiiich consumed their city and nation.
Ibid. — who heap the fuel round about] '• ''7;ur:, accen-
dentes, Syr. forte legerunt [pro niND] 'TXd; nam sequitur
nix : " Srckkr. Lud. Capellus, in his critical notes on this
place, thinks it should be n|>'o, from the LXX, xnTKr^vc^nii.
CHAP. LI. NOTES ON" ISAIAH. 355
CHAPTER LI.
4. — O ye people ; O ye nations] For jd>', my people, the
Bodley MS, and another, read D'd;?, ye peoples; and for
'din'?, my nation, the Bodley MS, and eight others (two of them
ancient), read D'ox^, ye nations ; and so the Syriac in both
words. The difference is very material : for in this case the
address is made, not to the Jews, but to the Gentiles, as
in all reason it ought to be ; for this and the two following
verses express the call of the Gentiles, the islands, or the dis-
tant lands on the coasts of the Mediterranean and other seas.
It is also to be observed, that God in no other place calls his
people 'rDxS. It has been before remarked, that transcribers
frequently omitted the final d of nouns plural, and supplied
it, for brevity-sake, and sometimes for want of room at the
end of a line, by a small stroke thus, ''d;;; which mark, being
effaced or overlooked, has been the occasion of many mistakes
of this kind.
5. My righteousness is at hand — ] The word pnv, right-
eousness, is used in such a great latitude of signification, for
justice, truth, faithfulness, goodness, mercy, deliveiance, sal-
vation, &.C., that it is not easy sometimes to give the precise
meaning of it without much circumlocution : it means here
the faithful completion of God's promises to deUver his peo-
ple.
11. — shall they obtain, and sorrow and sighing shall flee
awayl Nineteen MSS, and the two oldest editions, have
■•j'jy'; and forty-six MSS, and the same two editions, and
agreeably to them Chald. and Syr. have idji: and so both
words are expressed, chap. xxxv. 10. of which place this is
a repetition. And from comparing both together it appears,
that the i in this place is become by mistake in the present
text the final | of the preceding word.
13, — of the oppressor, as if he — ] " The 3 in ib'ND seems
clearly to have changed its situation from the end of the
preceding word to the beginning of this ; or rather, to have
been omitted by mistake there, because it was here. That it
was there, the LXX shew by rendering ip'XDn, 5A(fevTo? <rf,
of him that oppressed thee. And so they render this word
in both its places in this verse. The Vulgate also has the
pronoun in the first instance : furoris ejus qui te tribulabat : "
Dr. JuBB. The correction seems well founded. I have not
356 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LI.
conformed the translation to it, because it makes very little
diflerence in the sense.
14. He mctrcheth on with speed — ] Cyrus, if understood
of the temporal redemption from the captivity of Babylon ;
in the spiritual sense, the Messiah.
IG. To stretch out the heavens] In the present text it is
I'Mj'?, to plant the heavens. The phrase is certainly very ob-
scure, and in all probability is a mistake for nmjV This
latter is the word used in ver. 13. just before, in the very same
sentence ; and this phrase occurs frequently in Isaiah, chap,
xl. 22, xlii. 5. xliv. 24. xlv, 12. ; the former in no other place.
It is also very remarkable, that in the Samaritan text, Numb,
xxiv. 6. these two words are twice changed, by mistake,
one for the other, in the same verse.
19. These two things — desolation and destruction, the fam-
ine and the sivord] That is, desolation by famine, and de-
struction by the sword ; taking the terms alternately : of
which form of construction see other examples, De S. Poesi
Heb. Prajl. xix. and Prehm. Dissert, p. xix. The Chaldee
paraphrast, not rightly understanding this, has had recourse
to the following expedient : " Two afflictions are come upon
thee, — and when four shall come upon thee, depredation and
destruction, and the /omme wadi the sivord — " Five MSS
have 3;>-)n, without the conjunction i; and so LXX and Syr.
Ibid. —Who shall comfort thee 71 A MS, LXX, Syr.
Chald. and Vulg. have it in the third person, "jDnr ; which is
evidently right.
20. — in the toils, drenched to the full — ] " Forte niDDD
D-N^n: " Secker. The demonstrative n, prefixed to D'n'7D,
seems improper in this place.
21. And thou drunken, but not vnthv)ine.'\ ^schylus has
the same expression :
Aoivoti i(^i4.xvii<; 9vf4MfMia-i. Eumen. 863.
Intoxicate with passion, not with wine.
Schultens thinks, that this circumlocution, as he calls it,
" gradum adfert incomparabiliter majorem ; " and that it
means not simply without wine, but much more than with
wine : Gram. Hebr. p. 182. Sec his note on Job xxx. 28.
The bold image of the cup of God's wrath, often em-
ployed by the sacred writers, (see note on chap. i. 22.), is no
where handled with greater force and sublimity than in this
passage of Isaiah, ver. 17 — 23. Jerusalem is represented in
CHAP. LI. NOTES ON ISAIAH. H57
person as staggering under the effects of it, destitute of that
assistance which she might expect from her children ; not
one of them being able to support or to lead her. They,
abject and amazed, lie at the head of every street, over-
whelmed with the greatness of their distress : like tlie oryx
entangled in a net, in vain struggling to rend it, and extri-
cate himself. This is poetry of the first order, sublimity of
the liighest proof.
Plato had an idea something like this : " Suppose, says he,
God had given to men a medicating potion inducing fear ;
so that the more any one should drink of it, so much the
more miserable he should find himself at every draught, and
become fearful of every thing both present and future ; and
at last, though the most courageous of men, should be totally
possessed by fear ; and afterward, having slept off the effects
of it, should become himself again : " De Leg. i. near the
end. He pursues at large this hypothesis, applying it to his
purpose, which has no relation to the present subject. Homer
places two vessels at the threshold of Jupiter, one of good,
the other of evil : he gives to some a potion mixed of both, to
others from the evil vessel only : these are completely misera-
ble : Iliad, xxvi. 527.
23. — who oppress thee\ " Videntur, LXX, Chald. Syr.
Vulg. legisse yjiD, ut xl. 26. : " Secker. And so it is in
edit. Gersom.
Ibid. That say to thee, Bow down thy body'\ A very
strong and most expressive description of the insolent pride
of eastern conquerors ; which, though it may seem greatly
exaggerated, yet hardly exceeds the strict truth. An ex-
ample has already been given of it in note to chap. xlix. 23.
I will here add one or two more. " Joshua called for all
the men of Israel ; and said unto the captains of the men of
war that went with him : Come near, put your feet upon
the necks of these kings ; "' Josh. x. 24. " Adonibezek said,
Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their
great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table : as I
have done, so hath God requited me ; " Judg. i. 7. The
Emperor Valerianus being through treachery taken prisoner
by Sapor king of Persia, was treated by him as the basest
and most abject slave : for the Persian monarch commanded
the unhappy Roman to bow himself down, and offer him
his back, on which he set his foot, in order to mount his
chariot or his horse, whenever he had occasion : Lactan-
358 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LI.
tius, De Mort. Persec. cap. v. ; Aurel. Victor, Epitome, cap.
xxxii.
CHAPTER LIT.
2. — ascend thy lofty seat] The literal rendering here
is, according to our Englisli translation, " arise, sit : " on
which a very learned person remarks ; " So the old versions.
But sitting is an expression of mourning in Scripture and
the ancients ; and doth not well agree with the rising just
before." It doth not indeed agree according to our ideas :
but considered in an oriental light, it is perfectly consistent.
The common manner of sitting in the eastern countries is
upon the ground or floor, with the legs crossed. The
people of better condition have the floors of their chambers
or divans covered with carpets for this purpose ; and round
the chamber broad couches, raised a little above the floor,
spread with mattresses handsomely covered, which are called
sophas. When sitting is spoken of as a posture of more
than ordinary state, it is quite of a different kind ; and means
sitting on high, on a chair of state or throne ; for which a
footstool was necessary, both in order that the person might
raise himself up to it, and for supporting the legs when he
was placed in it. " Chairs (saitli Sir John Chardin) are
never used in Persia but at the coronation of their kings.
The king is seated in a chair of gold set with jewels, three
feet high.- — The chairs which are used by the people in the
East are always so high as to make a footstool necessary.
And this proves the propriety of the style of Scripture, which
always joins the footstool to the throne : " (Isa. Ixvi. 1. Psal.
ex. 1,) : Voyages, torn, ix, p. 85. IS""*. Beside the six steps
to Solomon's throne, there was a footstool of gold fastened
to the seat, 2 Chron. ix. 18. which would otherwise have
been too high for the king to reach, or to sit on conveniently.
When Thetis comes to wait on Vulcan to request armour
for her son, she is received with great respect, and seated
on a silver-studded throne, a chair of ceremony, with a foot-
stool : —
KccXSy ^ctt^ciXeif vTTo S'e ^■^^wii ftos-n -/jev. Iliad, xviii. 389.
'' High on a throne, with stars of silver graced.
And various artifice, the queen she placed j
A footstool at her feet." Pope.
CHAP. LII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 359
Oycc^ 3-fova5 aJ'Tos itwvav e}\;v8e^i«i; ert x.x9s$^» c-w uTTovohci)'. AthenaeUS,
V. 4. : '-A throne is nothing more than a handsome sort of
chair, with a footstool."
5. And they that are lords over them — ] For i'?k/d, sin-
gular, in the text, more than a hundred and twenty MSS
have v'?;yD, plural, according to the Masoretical correction
in the margin : which shews, that the Masoretes often super-
stitiously retained apparent mistakes in the text, even when
they had sufficient evidence to authorize the introduction of
the true reading.
Ibid. — make their boast of it^ For iV^rr, " make them
to howl," five MSS (two ancient) have i'7bn', " make their
boast ; " which is confirmed by the Chaldee paraphrast, who
renders it pn^ntyo.
6. Therefore shall my people — ] The word p% occur-
ring the second time in this verse, seems to be repeated by
mistake. It has no force or emphasis as a repetition ; it
only embarrasses the construction and the sense. It was
not in the copies from which the LXX, Syr. and Vulg.
were translated; it was not in the copy of LXX from
which the Arabic was translated : but in the Aldine and
Complutensian editions h» mro is repeated ; probably so
corrected, in order to make it conformable with the Hebrew
text.
Ibid. For 1 am He that promised] For Nin, the Bodley
MS, and another, have nirr; " for I am Jehovah that prom-
ised : " and another ancient MS adds nin» after xin. The
addition of Jehovah seems to be right, in consequence of
what was said in the preceding line, " My people shall know
my nameP
7. How beautiful — ] The watchmen discover afar ofl",
on the mountains, the messenger bringing the expected and
much wished-for news of the deliverance from the Babylonish
captivity. They immediately spread the joyful tidings, ver.
8. and with a loud voice proclaim that Jehovah is returning
to Sion, to resume his residence on his holy mountain, which
for some time he seemed to have deserted. This is the literal
sense of the place.
" How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the
joyful messenger," is an expression highly poetical ; for, how
welcome is his arrival ! how agreeable are the tidings which
he brings !
Nahum, who is generally supposed to have hved after
360 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. Lll*
Isaiah, has manifestly taken from him this very pleasing
image ; but the imitation does not equal the beauty of the
original :
" Behold upon the mountains the feet of the joyful messenger,
Of him that announceth peace:
Celebrate, O Judah, thy festivals; perform thy vows:
For no more shall pass through thee the wicked one;
He is utterly cut off. Nah. i. 15.
But it must at the same time be observed, that Isaiah's sub-
ject is infinitely more interesting, and more sublime, than
that of Nahum : The latter denounces the destruction of the
capita! of the Assyrian empire, the most formidable enemy
of Judah ; the ideas of the former are in their full extent
evangelical : and accordingly St Paul has, with the utmost
propriety, applied this passage to the preaching of the gos-
pel, Rom. X. 15. The joyful tidings here to be proclaimed,
'• Thy God, O Sion, reigneth," are the same that John the
Baptist, the messenger of Christ, and that Christ himself
published, " The kingdom of heaven is at hand."'
8. All thy tvatchmen — ] There is a difficulty in the con-
struction of this place, which, I think, none of the ancient
versions, or modern interpreters, have cleared up to satisfac-
tion. Rendered word for word it stands thus : " The voice
of thy watchmen : they lift up their voice." The sense of
the first member, considered as elliptical, is variously sup-
plied by various expositors ; by none, as it seems to me, in
any way that is easy and natural. I am persuaded there is
a mistake in the present text, and that the true reading is
yav ^D, " all thy watchmen ; " instead of yiix bip. The
mistake was easy from the simiUtude in sound of the two let-
ters D and p. And in one MS the p is upon a rasure. This
correction perfectly rectifies the sense and the construction.
Ibid. ■ — ivhen JehovAH returneth to Sion.'\ So the Chal-
dee : ]V)h rrnwiy 2'n' 12, " when he shall bring back his
presence to Sion."' God is considered as having deserted
his people during the captivity ; and, at the restoration, as
leturning himself with them to Sion his former habitation :
See Psal. Ix. 1. chap. xl. 9. and note.
9. — he hath redeemed Israel] For the word D'7Bfn',
which occurs the second time in this verse, MS Bodley, and
another, read '7N"ity'. It is upon a rasure in a third; and
left unpointed at first, as suspected, in a fourth. It was an
easy mistake, by the transcriber's casting liis eye on the line
CHAP. LII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 361
above ; and the propriety of the correction, both in regard to
sense and elegance, is evident.
11. Depart, depart ye; go ye out from thence\ The
Prophet Jeremiah seems to have had his eye on this passage
of Isaiah, and to have applied it to a subject directly oppo-
site. It is here addressed by the Prophet in the way of en-
couragement and exhortation to the Jews coming out of
Babylon : Jeremiah has given it a different turn, and has
thrown it out as a reproach of the heathen upon the Jews,
when they w^ere driven from Jerusalem into captivity :
" Depart; ye are polluted, depart; depart ye, forbear to touch:
Yea, they are fled, they are removed: they shall dwell here
no more." Lam. iv. 15.
Of the metrical distribution of these lines, see the Prelim.
Dissertation, p. xxxvi. note.
13. The subject of Isaiah's prophecy, from the fortieth
chapter inclusive, has hitherto been, in general, the deliver-
ance of the people of God. This includes in it three distinct
parts ; which, however, have a close connexion with one
another : that is, the deliverance of the Jews from the cap-
tivity of Babylon ; the deliverance of the Gentiles from their
miserable state of ignorance and idolatry ; and the deliver-
ance of mankind from the captivity of sin and death.
These three subjects are subordinate to one another ; and
the two latter are shadowed out under the image of the
former. They are covered by it as by a veil ; which how-
ever is transparent, and sufters them to appear through it.
Cyrus is expressly named as the immediate agent of God in
effecting the first deliverance : A greater Person is spoken
of as the agent who is to effect the two latter deliverances ;
called the servant, the elect of God, in whom his soul de-
lighteth ; Israel, in whom God will be glorified. Now these
three subjects have a very near relation to one another ; for,
as the agent who was to effect the two latter deliverances,
that is, the Messiah, was to be born a Jew, with particular
limitations of time, family, and other circumstances ; the
first deliverance was necessary in the order of Providence,
and according to the determinate counsel of God. to the
accomplishment of the two latter deliverances ; and the se-
cond deliverance was necessary to the third, or rather, was
involved in it, and made an essential part of it. This being
the case, Isaiah has not treated the three subjects as -quite
distinct and separate in a methodical and orderly manner,
36
362 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. Lll.
like a philosopher or a logician, but has taken them in their
connective view : he has handled them as a prophet and a
poet ; he hath allegorized the former, and under the image
of it has shadowed out the two latter ; he has thrown them
all together ; has mixed one with another, has passed from
this to that with rapid transitions, and has painted the whole
with the strongest and boldest imagery. The restoration of
the Jews from captivity, the call of the Gentiles, the redemp-
tion by Messiah, have hitherto been handled interchangeably
and alternately : Babylon has hitherto been kept pretty much
in sight ; at the same time that strong intimations of some-
thing much greater have frequently been thrown in. But
here Babylon is at once dropped ; and I think hardly evei'
comes insight again ; unless perhaps in chap.lv. 12. andlvii. 14.
The Prophet's views are almost whclly engrossed by the su-
perior part of his subject. He introduces the Messiah as ap-
pearing at first in the lowest state of humihation, which he
had just touched upon before, chap. 1. 5, 6. and obviates the
offence which would be occasioned by it, by declaring the
important and necessary cause of it, and foreshewing the
glory which should follow it.
This seems to me to be the nature and the true design of
this part of Isaiah's prophecies ; and this view of them seems
to afford the best method of resolving difficulties in which
expositors are frequently engaged, being much divided be-
tween what is called the literal and the mystical sense — not
very properly ; for the mystical or spiritual sense is very often
the most literal sense of all.
Abarbanel seems to have had an idea of this kind, as he is
quoted by Vitringa on chap. xlix. 1. who thus represents his
sentiments : " Censet Abarbanel Prophetam hie transitwn
facere a libcratione ex exilio Bahylonico ad liberalionem ex
cxilio Romano^ (for this he takes to be the secondary sense) ;
et, quod hie animadversu dignum est, observat liberationem
ex exilio Bahylonico esse n'N^i mx, signum et argumentum
libcrationis futura-. ; atque adeo orationem Prophetajde duabus
hisce liberationibus in superioribus concionibus saepe inter se
permisceri. Verba ejus : ' Et propterca verba, sive res, in
prophetia supcriore inter so permixtu' occurrimt ; niodode lib-
erationc Babylonica, modo de libcratione extrema accipiendw,
ut orationis ncccssitas exigil.' Nullum hie vitium, nisi quod
redcn>ptionem veram et spiritualem a Messia vero Jesu ad-
ductam non agnoscat."
CHAP. LII. NOTES ON ISA.IAH.
363
14. — were astonished at hini] For y^^H read vS;?: so
Syr. Chald. and Vulg. in a MS ; and so likewise two ancient
MSS.
15. So shall he sprinkle many nations] 1 retain the com-
mon rendering-, though I am by no means satisfied with it.
" r\v, frequent in the law, means only to sprinkle : but the
water sprinkled is the accusative case ; the thing, on which,
has b;? or ba. Qav/MtTovTai, o, makes the best apodosis. :nr
would do. nnr is used ii. 2. Jer. xxxi. 12. li. 44. but is unlike.
Kings shall shut, &c. is good; but seems to want a first
part : " Secker. Munster translates it, " Faciet loqui (de
se) ; " and in his note thus explains it: " nr proprie signifi-
cat spargere et stillas disseminare : hie vero capitur pro loqui,
et verbum disseininare." This is pretty much as the Rab-
bins, Kimchi, and Salomo ben Melee, explain it, referring to
the expression of '• dropping the word." But the same ob-
jection lies to this as to the common rendering : it ought to
be D'U bp (^m) n?-. Bishop Chandler, Defence, p. 148. says,
"that to sprinkle, is used for to surprise and astonish, as peo-
ple are tiuit irave much water thrown upon them. And this
sense is followed by the LXX," This is ingenious, but rather
too refined. Dr Durell conjectures, that the true reading
may be nn% they shall regard, which comes near to the
d-avixadovrai of the LXX ; who seem to give the best sense of
any to the place.
'•'T find in my papers the same conjecture which Dr
Durell made from ^avftcta-ovlat in LXX. And it may be
added, that nin is used to express " looking on any thing
with admiration ; " Psal. xi. 7. and xvii. 15. and xxvii .4. and
Ixiii. 2. Cant. vi. 13. It is particularly applied to " looking
on God," Exod. xxiv. 11. and Job xix. 26. Gisbert Cuper,
in Observat. lib. ii. 1. though aliud agens, has some obser-
vations which shew how nearly of«^ and B-uvncc^a are allied,
which (with the peculiar sense of the verb nin above noted)
add to the probability o( ^avfA^xcrovlxi being the version of ith'
in the text : et ^s w xuoi iimIk; e? uvjo)/ o^Mo-i. Hesiod. id est,
cum veneratione quadam admirantur. Hinc i^ccu et ^uvfA^^u
junxit ThemistiuS Or. 1. E<7« -^ccvTo^ilat ii x^^uiroi ^r^a? «■£ /twvo»
of»v7£«, KM a-e iA.(,vtv ^xvfAx^ov1e<;. Tlieophrastus in Charact. cap.
iii. Evflt^fijj ai uTroQMTraa-iv etg (re ot xvS^aTrot. Hcnce the rendermg
of this verse seems to be : —
So many nations shall look on him with admiration;
Kings shall stop their mouths—" Dr Jubb.
3G4
NOTES ON ISAIAH, CHAP. LIIl.
CHAPTER LIIL
2. He hath no form, nor any beauty — ] Ovk aa'oi uvro), a^e
et^ta>fi.cc, Imx eiS'uu.ev xvtoV hS's .%a^ict, Itx £7n6viMif*.it avroV. Symilia-
chus ; the only one of the ancients that has translated it
rightly.
3. — a7id acquainted with grief — ] For ;nTi, eight MSS
and one edition have ^'ti; LXX, Syr. and Vulg, read it
;nn. _
Ibid. — as one that hideth his face] For "i>idddi, four
MSS (two ancient) have i'^dddi, one MS "rnDoi. For
□•J3, two MSS liaven£3; and so Ukewise LXX and Vulg.
Mourners covered up the lower part of their faces, and their
heads; 2 Sam. xv. 30. Ezek. xxiv. 17.; and lepers were
commanded by the law, Lev. xiii. 45. to cover their upper
lip. From which circumstance it seems, that Vulg. Aquila,
Symmachus, and the Jewish commentators, have taken the
word >'UJ, stricken, in the next verse, as meaning stricken
with the leprosy, ev ct<pv\ ovlx, Sym ; ec^>iiA.aov, Aq. ; leprosum,
4. Surely our infirmities — ] Seven MSS (two ancient),
and three editions, have ir»Sn, in the plural number.
Ibid. — he hath carried them] Fifteen MSS (two ancient),
and two editions, have the word Nin beibre dS^D in the text:
four other MSS have it in the margin. This adds force to
the sense, and elegance to the construction.
o. — by which our peace is effected^ Twenty-one MSS
and six editions have the word fully and regularly expressed,
iro'7K?; " pacificationum nostrarnm : " Ar. Montan.
6. — the iniquities of us all] For ji;*, the ancient inter-
preters read mJi;% plural ; and so Yulg. in MS Blanchini.
8. And his manner of life who ivould declare'^'] My
learned friend Dr Kennicott has communicated to me the
following passages from the Mishna, and the Gemara of
Babylon, as leading to a satisfactory explication of this diffi-
cult place. It is said in the former, that, before any one
Vvas punished for a capital crime, proclamation was made
])cfore the prisoner by the public crier in these words :
1 •''?>• loVi N3' niDi lb >nvB' ■:: Sd, •■ (juicuncjue noverit ali-
tjuid de ejus innocenlia, vcniat et doccat dc eo:"' Trad.
Sanhedrim. Surenhus. Par. IV. p. 233. On which passage
the Gemara of Babvlon adds, that, " before the death ol
CHAP, LIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 365
Jesus, this proclamation was made for forty days ; but no
defence could be found." On which words Lardner ob-
serves," It is truly surprising to see such falsities, contrary
to well known facts :" Testimonies, vol, i. p. 198, The
report is certainly false ; but this false report is founded on
the supposition that there was such a custom, and so far
confirms the account above given for the Mishna. The
Mishna was composed in the middle of the second century,
according to Prideaux : Lardner ascribes it to the year of
Christ 180.
Casaubon has a quotation from Maimonides, which fur-
ther confirms this account : Exercitat. in Baronii Annates, Art.
Ixxxvi. Ann. 34. Num. 119. "Auctor est Maimonides in
Perek xiii. ejus Libri ex opere Jad, solitum fieri, ut cum Reus,
sententiam mortis passus, a loco judicii exibat ducendus ad
supplicium, jireecederet ipsum tn^n, xjj^vI, preeco ; et heec verba
diceret : llle exit occidendus morte illa^ quia transgressus est
transgressione ilia, in loco illo^ tempore illo, et sunt ejus rei
testes ille et ille. Q,ui noverit aliquid ad ejus innocentiam
probandam, veniat, et loquatur pro eo."
Now it is plain from the history of the four Evangelists, that
in the trial and condemnation of Jesus no such rule was ob-
served, (though, according to the account of the Mishna, it
must have been in practice at that time): no proclamation was
made for any person to bear witness to the innocence and
character of Jesus ; nor did any one voluntarily step forth to
give his attestation to it. And our Saviour seems to refer to
such a custom, and to claim the benefit of it, by his answer
to the High Priest, when he asked him of his disciples and of
his doctrine : " I spake openly to the world ; 1 ever taught in
the synagogue and in the temple, whither the Jews always
resort ; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me?
ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them : be-
hold, they know what I said ;" John xviii. 20, 21. This there-
fore was one remarkable instance of hardship and injustice,
among others, predicted by the prophet, which our Saviour un-
derwent in his trial and sufferings.
St. Paul Ukewise, in similar circumstances, standing before
the judgment-seat of Festus, seems to complain of the same
unjust treatment ; that no one was called, or would appear
to vindicate his character : " My manner of life (tj,w /3«w<r/» i^v,
'^r^), from my 3'^outh, which was at the first among my own
36*
366 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LIU.
nation at Jeriipalem,lvnow all the Jews ; which knew me from
the beginning, if they would testifj- : that after the straitest
:-ect of our religion 1 lived a Pharis^ee;'' Acts xxvi. 4, 5.
•^n signifies age. duration, the time which one man or many
together pass in this world : in this place, the course, tenor, or
manner of life. The verb in signifies, according to Castell.
'• ordinatam vitam sive cctatem egit, ordinavit. ordine constitu-
it." In Arabic. '■ curavit, administravit.'"
Ibid. — lie ircii: smitten to death'] The LXX read r^rh,
m S-avstlov. And so the Coptic and Sahidic versions from liXX.
MS8 St. Germain de Prez.
'■' Origen, (contra Celsum. lib. i. p. 370. edit. 1733), after
having (inorcd at large this prophecy concerning the Messiah,
tells us. that having once made use of thi- passage in a dispute
against some that Avere accounted wise among the Jews : one
of thenwepiicd, that the words did not mean one man. but
one people, (he Jews ; who were smitten of God, and dis-
persed among the Gentiles for their conversion : that he then
urged many parts of this prophecy, to shew the absurdity o!
this interpretation ; and that he seemed to press them the
iiarciest by this sentence : utto 7m woyjm ts >M>i fjua y^/ch m B-xvxlov.
Xow as Origen. the author of tlic Hexapla. must have tm-
(!orsiood Hebrew, we cannot suppose that he would havciirced
ibis last quotation as so decisive, if the Greek version had not
a-rrecd here with the Hebrew text : nor that these wise Jews
would have been at oil distressed b}" this Cjuotation. unless
their licbrew text had read agreeably io£c<' ■O-aic.z oi. on which
the argument {)rincipally depended : for. by quoting it imme-
liiateiy, they would have triumphed over him, and reprobated
his Gieek version. This, whenever they could do it. was
ibeir constant practice, in their dispute with the Christians.
6%om, in his preface to the Psalms, says. " Nuper cum
Hcbreeo disputans, nutedam pro Dominf» salvatore de
P.«almis testimonia protulisti : volensquo ille te illuderc.
j);M- sermone.'- fere singulos asserebat. non ita haberi
in Hebra'O, ut tu de LXX opponebas." And Grigen
hiujself, who laboriously compared the Hebrew text with the
LAX has recorded the necessity of arguing with ihc
Jews from sucli passages only a> were in the liXX
a<iTeeal)le to the Hebrew : <v« ^^05 laS'Moii SittXtyoi^cvoi /luj t^o-
Otff-jtctv «iTo/; Tx tui xsif^eva ci roit; avTiy^xipoii; avTuy, y.cii tvx 'rvy^'/ia-u-
u.i6ct Toti (pe^of/^voKi TToco' iy.it)ioii;. See l^jpist. ad African, p. 15. 17.
CHAP. mi. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 367
Wherefore, as Origen had carefully compared the Greek
version of LXX with the Hebrew text, and speaks of the
contempt with which the Jews treated all appeals to the
Greek version, where it differed from their Hebrew text ;
and as he puzzled and confounded the learned Jews, by urg-
ing upon them the reading et^ Q-uvazov in this place ; it seems
almost impossible not to conclude, both from Origen's argu-
ment and the silence of his Jewish adversaries, that the He-
brew text at that time actually had rra'?, agreeably to the
version of the LXX : "' Dr. Kennicott.
7. But ivitk the 7'ich man was his to?7ib] Among the
various opinions which have been given on this passage, I
have no doubt in giving my assent to that which makes the
2 in vnioD radical, and renders it excelsasua. This is men-
tioned by Aben Ezra, as received by some in his time ; and
has been long since approved by Schindler, Drusius, and
many other learned Christian interpreters.
The most simple tombs or monuments of old consisted of
hillocks of earth heaped up over the grave : of which we
have numei'ous examples in our own country, generally
allowed to be of very high antiquity. The Romans called
a monument of this sort very properly tutnulus ; and the
Hebrews as properly mr33, for that is the form of the noun in
the singular number ; and sixteen MSt?, and the two oldest
editions, express the word fully in this place, mti::. " Tu-
mulus et collem et sepulchrum fuisse significat. Potest enini
tumulus sine sepulchro interpretatione collis interdum accipi.
Nam et terrae congestio super ossa tumulus dicitur : " Servius,
in ^neid iii. 22. And to make the tumulus still more ele-
vated and conspicuous, a pillar or some other ornament was
often erected upon it : —
n^^otf^iv dK^oTctrcii^ rv/JuQci) ivtj^ei f^sTjitav. OdySS. XU. 14.
" A rising tomb, the silent dead to grace,
Fast by the roarings of the main we place:
The rising tomb a lofty column bore,
And high above it rose the tapering oar." Pope.
The tomb therefore might with great propriety be called the
high place. The Hebrews might also call such a tomb mon,
from the situation ; for they generally chose to erect them on
eminences. The sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathea, in which
the body of Christ was laid, was upon a hill. Mount Calvary.
See chap. xxii. IG. and the note there.
368 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LII.
" It should be observed, that the word vr\io3 is not formed
from nn3, the plural of n^D^, the feminine noun, but from
□'nnn, the plural of a masculine noun, mo3. This is noted,
because these two nouns have been negligently confounded
with one another, and absurdly reduced to one, by very
learned men. So BuxtortT, Lex. in v. riDD, represents 'niM,
though plainly without any pronoun suffixed, as it governs
the word ]'nx following it, as only another form of niD3;
whereas the truth is, that m:D3 and D'ni03 are different words,
and have through the whole Bible very different significa-
tions : nrD3, whether occurring in the singular or plural num-
ber, always signifying " a place, or places, of worship ; " and
D'niD3 always signifying '• heights." Thus in Deut. xxxii.
13. Isa. Iviii. 14. Amos iv. 13. and Mic, i. 3. px Tiion signifies
"the heights of the earth;" Isa. xiv. 14. D;r 'nioD, "the
heights of the clouds ; '"' and in Job ix. 8. d' tiidd, " the
heights of the sea," i. e. the high waves of the sea, as Virgil
calls a wave ■•' praeruptus aquae mons." These being all the
places where this word occurs without a suffix, the sense of
it seems clearly determined by them. It occurs in other
instances with a pronoun suffixed, which confirm this signi-
fication. Unluckily our English Bible has not distinguished
the feminine noun noD from the masculine singular noun
ma:}; and has consequently always given the signification
of the latter to the former, always rendering it " a high
place : " whereas the true sense of the word appears plainly
to be, in the very numerous passages in which it occurs, "a
place of worship," or "a sacred court," or "a sacred inclo-
sure," whether appropriated to the worship of idols, or to
that of the true God : for it is used of both passim. Now,
as the Jewish graves are shewn, from 2 Chron. xxxii. 33.
and Isa. xxii. IG. to have been in high situations; to which
may be added the custom of another eastern nation from
Osbeck's Travels, who says, vol. i. p. 339. "The Chi-
nese graves are made on the side of hills ; " " his heights "
becomes a very easy metaphor to express his sepulchre : *
Dr. JuBB.
The exact completion of this prophecy will be fully shewn,
by adding here the several circumstances of the burial of
Jesus, collected from the accounts of the Evangelists : —
"There was a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, a
member of the Sanhedrim, and of a respectable character,
who had not consented to their counsel and act : lie went
CHAiP. LIII. NOTES ON ISAIAtt. 369
to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus ; and he laid it in
his own new tomb, which had been hewn out of the rock,
near to the place where Jesus was crucified ; having firsl
wound it in fine linen with spices, as the manner of tho
Jews was to bury the rich and great."
10. — 'ivith grief ^ For 'bnn, the verb, the construction
of which seems to be hard and inelegant in this place, Yulg,
reads »^n3, in infirmitate.
Ibid. If his soul shall ?nake—^] For D'tyn, a MS has
Dt^n, which may be taken passively, " If his soul shall be
made—," agreeably to some copies of LXX, which have
(hozai. So likewise Syr.
J 1. — and he satisfied — ■] LXX, Vulg. Syr. and a MS-
add the conjunction to the verb ; };2W^.
Ibid. — shall my servant justify\ Three MSB (two of
them ancient), omit the word p'li'; it seems to be only an
imperfect repetition, by mistake, of the preceding word. It
makes a solecism in this place ; for, according to the con-'
stant usage of the Hebrew language, the adjective, in a
phrase of this kind, ought to follow the substantive ; and
"13;^ p""iir in Hebrew would be as absurd as " shall my ser-
vant righteous justify," in English. Add to this, that it
makes the hemistich too long.
12. And tnade Intercession — ] For ;"J3', in the future,
a MS has ;;'J3n, preterit; rather better, as agreeable \vith
the other verbs immediately preceding in the sentence,
CHAPTER LIV,
1. Shout for joy, O thon barren-^] The church of God
under the Old Testament, confined within the narrow
bounds of the Jewish nation, and still more so in respect of
the very small number of true believers, and which some-
times seemed to be deserted of God her husband ; is the
barren woman, that did not bear, and was desolate. She is
exhorted to rejoice, and to express her joy in the strongest
manner, on the reconciliation of her husband, see ver. 6.
and on the accession of the Gentiles to her family. The
converted Gentiles are all along considered by the Prophet
as a new accession of adopted children, admitted into tho
original church of God, and united with it. Sec chap, xliv.
20, 21.
SfO ^'OTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LIV.
4. For thou .shali forget] " Shame of thy youth ; i. e.
the bondage of Egypt: widowhood, the captivity of Baby-
lon : " Secker.
7. In a little anger--] So the Chald. and Syr. either
reading m for ;'Jn, or understanding the latter word as
meaning the same with the former, which they both make
use of. See Psal. xxx. 5. xxxv. 20. in LXX, where they
render >U"i by o^yti-
8. I hid my face \for a moment'] from thee] The word
;»j-) is omitted by LXX, Syr. and two MSS. It seems to
embarrass rather than to help the sentence. " Forte reponi
debet pro f]Xii', quod potest a f]Vp errore scribte origiiiem
duxisse i" Secker>
9. — as in the days of Noah] 'D'D, in one word, in a
MS, and some editions ; and so Syr. Chald. Vulg. Sym.
Theod. Abarbanel, Salomo b. Melee, and Kirachi, ac-
knowledge that their copies vary in this place.
II, 12. Behold, I lay thy stones — ] These seem to be
general images to express beauty, magnificence, purity,
strength, and solidity, agreeably to the ideas of the eastern
nations ; and to have never Ijeen intended to be strictly
scrutinized, or minutely and particularly explained, as if
ihey had each of them some precise moral or spiritual
meaning. Tobit, in his prophecy of the final restoration of
Israel, describes the New Jerusalem in the same oriental
manner : " For Jerusalem shall be built up with sapphires,
and emeralds, and precious stones ; thy walls, and towers,
and battlements, with pure gold. And the streets of Jeru-
salem shall be paved with beryl, and carbuncle, and stones
of Ophir : " Tob, xiii. 16, 17. Compare also Rev. xxi.
18—21.
15. ^-shall come over to thy side] For ^iD', twenty-
eight MSS (eight ancient) have "70% in its more common
form. For the meaning of the word in this place, see Jer.
j^xxvii. 13.
CHAPTER LV.
0. For as the heavens are higher — ] 1 am persuaded
that D, the particle of comparison, is lost in this place, from
ihe likeness of the particle 'D immediately preceding it. So
Jloubigant, and Secker. And their remark is confirmed
bv all the ancient versions, which express it : and by the
CHAP. LV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 371
following passage of Psalm, ciii. 11. which is almost the
same : —
" For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So high is his goodness over them that fear him."
Where, by the nature of the sentence, the verb in the
second line ought to be the same with that in the first : nij,
not ^2}: so Archbishop Seeker conjectured ; referring how-
ever to Psal. cxvii. 2.
12. The mountains and the hills — ] These are highly
poetical images, to express a happy state attended with joy
and exultation.
" Ipsi laetitia voces ad sidera jactant
Intonsi montes: ipsae jam carmina rupes,
Ipsa sonant arbusta." Virg. Eel. v.
13. Instead of the thorny hushes — ] These likewise (see
note on the preceding verse, and on chap. liv. 11.) are gen-
eral poetical images, expressing a great and happy change
for the better. The wilderness turned into a paradise,
Lebanon into Carmel : the desert of the Gentiles watered
with the heavenly snow and rain, which fail not to have
their due effect, and becoming fruitful in piety and right-
eousness ; or, as the Chaldee gives the moral sense of the
emblem, " Instead of the wicked shall arise the just, and
instead of sinners, such as fear to sin." Compare ch. xxxv.
1, 2. xU. 19.
Ibid. And instead of — ] The conjunction i is added,
nnm, in forty-five MSS, and five editions ; and it is acknowl-
edged by all the ancient versions. The Masoretes therefore
might have safely received it into the text, and not have re-
ferred us for it to the margin.
CHAPTER LVI.
5. — will I give them\ For i'? in the singular, it is evi-
dent that we ought to read idS in the plural : so read LXX,
Syr. Chald. and Vulg.
7. — shall he accepted] A word is here lost out of the
text : it is supplied from the LXX, vrr, edovzca : Houbigant.
9. Oall ye beasts of the field — ] Here manifestly begins
372 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LVI.
a new section. The Prophet, in the foregoing chapters,
having comforted the faithful Jews with many great promises
of God's favour to be extended to them, in the restoration
of their ruined state, and of the enlargement of his church
by the admission of tiie Gentiles ; here, on a sudden, makes
a transition to the more disagreeable part of the prospect ;
and to a sharp reproof of the wicked and unbelievers, and
especially of the negligent and f:iithless governors and teach-
ers, of the idolaters and hypocrites, who would still draw
down liis judgments upon the nation : probably having in
view the destruction of their city and polity by the Chal-
deans, and perhaps by the Romans. The same subject is
continued in the next chapter ; in which the charge of cor-
ruption and apostasy becomes more general against the
whole Jewish church. Some expositors have made great
difficulties in the 9th verse of this chapter, where there seems
to be none. It is perfectly well explained by Jeremiah ;
where, having introduced God declaring his purpose of
punishing his people, by giving them up as a prey to their
enemies the Chaldeans, a charge to these his agents is given
in words very nearly the same with those of Isaiah in this
place : —
" I have forsaken my house; I have deserted my heritage;
I have given up the beloved of my soul into the hands of her
enemies. —
Come away, be ye gathered together, all ye beasts of the
field;
Come away to devour." Jer. xii. 7. 9.
Ibid. — beasts of the forest] Instead of i;r"'3, three MSS
have '^)r, without the preposition : which seems to be right :
and is confirmed by all the ancient versions.
10. dumb dogs, they cannot bark] See below, note on
chap. Ixii. 6.
Ibid. Drea7ners'\ nnn, '.w7rnx!l,ot*£w, LXX. This seems
to be the best authority for the meaning of this word, which
occurs only in this place : Ijut it is to be observed, that three
MSS, and three editions, have D-?n; and so Vulg. seems to
have read, videntes vana.
12. — let ns provide v^ine] Vox nnpN, first person sin-
gular, an ancient MS has nnpJ, first person plural ; and
another ;uicient MS has px upon a rasure. So Syr. Chald.
and Vulc. rond(T i(.
CHAP. LVII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 373
CHAPTER LVII.
2. He shall go in peace] 01*72/ xi3' : the expression is
elliptical, sucli as the Prophet frequently uses. The same
sense is expressed at large and in full terms, Gen. xv. 15.
Di'7Jj'3 I'm^N '7X Ki3n nnxi, •' And thou shalt go to thy fathers
in peace."
Ibid, —he shall rest in his bed; even the perfect man]
This obscure sentence is reduced to a perfectly good sense,
and easy construction, by an ingenious remark of DrDuRELL.
He reads on nDiyn b;? nu'. Two MSS (one of them ancient)
have ni:', singular; and so Vulg. renders it, reguiescai.
The verb was probably altered to make it plural, and so con-
sistent with what follows, after the mistake had be en made
in the following words, by uniting nDi7D and on into one
word. See Merrick's Annotations on the Psalms, Addenda ;
where the reader wll find, that J. S. Moerlius, by the same
sort of correction, and by rescuing the adjective on, which
had been swallowed up in another word in the same manner,
has restored to a clear sense a passage before absolutely un-
inteUigible : —
inbiN x'"i:}i on
" For no distresses happen to them;
Perfect and firm is their strength." Psal. Ixxiii. 4.
6. Among the smooth stones of the valley — ] The Jews
M'ere extremely addicted to the practice of many supersti-
tious and idolatrous rites, which the Prophet here inveighs
against with great vehemence. Of the worship of rude
stones consecrated, there are many testimonies of the an-
cients. They were called Ba/rt/Ae* and BourvXix; probably
from the stone which Jacob erected at Bethel, pouring oil
upon the top of it. The practice was very common in dif-
ferent ages and places. Arnobius, lib. i. gives an account
of his own practice in this respect, before he became a Chris-
tian : " Si quando conspexeram lubricatum lapidem, et ex
olivi unguine sordidatum ; tanquam inesset vis praesens.
adulabar, affabar, et beneficia poscebam nihil sentiente de
trunco." Clemens Alex. Strom, lib. vii. speaks of a wor-
shipper of every smooth stone in a proverbial way, to denote
one given up to superstition. And accordingly Theophras-
tus has marked this as one strong feature in the character
37
374 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. fcVH.
of the superstitious man : K«m -vm Xi7C»^m Xi6m rut a rutg T^io-
T^oo-Ktmio-cci x7rxxx*r]sT6xt : " Passing by the anointed stones
in the streets, he takes out his phial of oil, and pours it on
them ; and having fallen on his knees, and made his adora-
tions, he departs."
8. Behind the door, and the door-posts, hast thou set thy
memorial] That is, the image of their tutelary gods, or
something dedicated to them ; in direct opposition to the
law of God, which commanded them to write upon the door-
posts of their house, and upon their gates, the words of God's
law ; Deut. vi. 9. xi. 20. If they chose for them such a
situation as more private, it was in defiance of a particular
curse denounced in the law against the man who should
make a graven or a molten image, and put it in a secret place ;
Deut. xxvii. 15. An ancient MS, with another, has -inx,
without the conjunction i.
9. And thou hast visited the king tvitk a present of oil.\
That is, the king of Assyria, or Egypt. Hosea reproaches
the Israelites for the same practice : —
" They make a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is carried to Egypt." Hosea xii. 1.
It is well known, that in all parts of the East, whoever visits
a great person must carry him a present. " It is counted
uncivil." says Maundrell, p. 26. " to visit in this country
without an offering in hand. All great men expect it as a
tribute due to their character and authority ; and look upon
themselves as affronted, and indeed defrauded, when the
compliment is' omitted." Hence 1157, to visit a person, is
equivalent to making him a present : and niwn signifies
a present made on such occasions ; as our translators have
rightly rendered it, 1 Sam. ix. 7. : on which Jarchi says,
"Menachem exponit nntyn quod significet oblationem sive
munus, ut aliquis aspiciat faciem regis, aut alicujus magnatis."
10. Thou hast said, There is no hope] In one of the
MSS at Koningsberg, collated by Lilienthal, the words
moK «^ are left in the text unpointed, as suspected ; and in
the margin the corrector has written 'iDxrii- Now, if we com-
pare .Jer. ii. 25. and xviii. 12. we shall find, that the subject
is in both places quite the same with this of Isaiah, and the
sentiment expressed, that of a desperate resolution to continue
at all hazard in their idolatrous practices ; the very thing that
in all reason we might expect here. Probably therefore the
latter is the true reading in this place.
CHAF. LVII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 375
11. — }ior revolved it — ] Eight MSS (four ancient),
and the two oldest editions, with another, add the conjunc-
tion 1, kSi: which is confirmed by all the ancient versions.
Ibid. — a7id ?vin/ccd] For DSi;?ni, which makes no good
sense or construction in this place, twenty-three MSS
(seven ancient), and three editions, have Db^'o, (to be thus
pointed D^>'o); x«|e^ai, LXX; quasi non videns, Vulg. : see
Psal. X. 1. The truth of this reading so confirmed admits
of no doubt.
12. — my righteousness] For "jripn:;, thi/ righteousness,
Syr. LXX, MSS Alex, and Pachom. and i. D. ii., and
Marchal. and o< r, and Arab, read 'npi:^, mi/ righteousness.
13. — let thine associates deliver thee] Thirty-nine MSS
(ten ancient), and the two oldest editions, have yh'T, plural.
14. then will I sap] IDW, to be pointed as the first per-
son future : they are the words of God, as it is plain from
the conclusion of the verse ; my people, 'd;;.
IB. For thus saith Jehovah] A MS adds nin' after
Vj;<, und edition Frag. 1518. So LXX, Alex, and Arab.
An ancient MS adds n'-
Ibid. And with the contrite — ] Twelve MSS have m,
without the conjunction v " Pro nxi, forte legendum
HKiNi : confer Psal. cxiii. 5. et cxxxviii. 6, : " Secker.
16. For I will not alioay — ] The learned have taken a
great deal of pains to httle purpose on the latter part of this
verse, which they suppose to be very obscure. After all their
labours upon it, I think the best and easiest explication of it
is given in the two following elegant passages of the Psalms,
which I presume are exactly parallel to it, and very clearly
express the same sentiment.
" But He in his tendermercy will forgive their sin,
And will not destroy them;
Yea oftentimes will he turn away his wrath,
And will not rouse up all his indignation:
For he remembereth that they are but flesh,
A breath that passeth, and returneth not." Ixxviii. 38. 39.
" He will not always contend,
Neither will he forever hold his wrath:
As a father yearneth towards his children,
So is Jehovah tenderly compassionate towards them that fear
him:
For he knoweth our frame;
He remembereth that we are but dust." ciii. 9. 13, 14.
376 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LVII.
ia the foimer of these two passages, the second hne seems
to be defective both in measure and sense: I suppose the
word DniN, them, is lost at the end ; which seems to be ac-
knowledged by Chald. and Vulg. who render as if they had
read, oniN n'nry' n'71.
17. Because of his iniquity for a short time Iicas ioroth\
For ij;x2, I read ;;w, paululum, a ;;:;:], abscidit ; as LXX
read and render it, li^ctz'' ^'- ''Propter iniquitatem avari^ia?
ejus" the rendering of Vulg., which our translators, and I
believe all others follow, is surely quite beside the purpose.
19. / create the fruit of the lips ;— ] " The sacrifice of
praise," saith St Paul, Heb. xiii. 15. " is the fruit of the lips.''
God creates this fruit of the lips, by giving new subject and
cause of thanksgiving, by his mercies conferred on those
among his people who acknowledge and bewail their trans-
gressions, and return to him. The great subject of thanks-
giving is peace ; reconciliation and pardon offered to them
that are nigh, and to them that are afar off ; not only to the
Jew, but also to the Gentile, as St Paul more than once
applies these terms, Eph, ii. 13. 17. : see also Acts ii. 39.
21. There is no peace, saith my God — ] For 'n^N,
twenty-two MSS (five ancient) read nirr. Vulg. LXX
Alex. Arab, and three MSS, have both. This verse has
reference to the 19th. The wicked and impenitent are ex-
cluded from all share in that peace above-mentioned, that
reconcilement and pardon, which is promised to the penitent
only. The xlviiith chapter ends with the same declaration ,
to express the exclusion of the unbelievers and impenitent
from the benefit of the foregoing promises.
CHAPTER LVIII
3. — afflicted our souls — ] Twenty-seven MSS (six an-
cient), and the old edition of 1488, have the noun in the
plural number, yy^vB: : and so LXX, Chald. Vulg,
I. And to smite with the fist the poor. Wherefore fast yc
unto nie — ] I follow the version of the liXX, which gives
a much better sense than the present reading of the Hebrew.
Instead of kS ^'DI, they seem to have read in their copy
'S no S;; \a'\ : the four first letters are the same, but other-
wise divided in regard to the words ; the four last are lost,
and X added in their place, in order to make some sort of
sense with S;?iin. The version of the LXX is Kxt rvTrlirt
TvyfAMii T«7r£(»o»" ivx ri (mi vr,fiveTe .
CHAP. LVIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 377
7. — the wandering poor — ] v']ux,ovi eweyoi;?, LXX ; ege-
nos vagosque, Vulg. ; and j^b^oStars, Chald. They read, in-
stead of Dnnn, onun. id is upon a lasure in the Bodleian
MS. The same MS reads nno, in domum.
8. And thy wounds shall speedily be healed] " Et cica-
trix vulneris tui cito obducetur." Aquila's version, as reported
by Jerom ; with which agrees that of the Chaldee.
Ibid. And the glory — ] Sixteen MSS (five ancient), and
LXX, Syr. Vulg. add the conjunction i, nnDi.
10. If thou bring forth thy bread — ] " To draw out thy
soul to the hungry," as our translators rightly enough express
the present Hebrew text, is an obscure phrase, and without
example in any other place. But instead of "jtyaj, thy soul,
eight MSS (three ancient) read pnb, thy bread ; and so the
Syriac renders it. The LXX express both words, rov agzov
ix TVts ipv/^js dov, thy bread from thy soul.
11. And he shall renew thy strength] " Chaldsus forte
legit tjnnxj? e^hrx*- Confer cap. xl. 29. 31. et xU. 1. : " Secker.
Chald. has ^"oh'j "hd "n* '■3i:i, " et corpus tuum vivificabit in
vita aeterna." The rest of the ancients seem not to know what
to make of |"'7rT ; and the rendering of the Vulgate, which
seems to be the only proper one, ossa tua liberabit, makes no
sense. I follow this excellent emendation ; to favour which,
it is still further to be observed, that three MSS, instead of
ynn^)}, have "innx;;, singular.
12. — to be frequented by inhabitants] To this purpose
it is rendered by Syr. Sym. and Theod.
13. Prom doing thy pleasure] The LXX, Syr. and
Chald. for nitJ'jr manifestly express nw};T2- So likewise a MS
has it ; but v/ith the omission of the words ybii n2W.
Ibid. And the holy feast] Twenty-eight MSS (seven
ancient) add the conjunction i, w^^\T>'^>^^■ and so Syr. and Chald.
Ibid. — and from speaking vain words] It is necessary
to add some epithet to make out the sense : the LXX say
angry words ; Chald. words of violence. If any such epithet
is lost here, the safest way is to supply it by the Prophet's own
expression, ver. 9. |in '^y^^, vain words ; that is, profane, im-
pious, injurious, &;c.
•'The additional epithet seems unnecessary. The Vulg,
and Syr. have it not. And the sense is good without it ; two
ways, first by taking -i3ni for a noun, and "Unfor the participle
pahul, and rendering,
" From pursuing thy pleasure, and the thing resolved on: "
37*
378 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LVITI.
Or, secondly, by supposing the force of the preposition o to be
continued from the verb ni^^dd to the verbiani immediately fol-
lowing, and rendering.
" From executing thy pleasure, and from speaking words
concerning it."
But the first seems the easier rendering."' Dr. Jubb. «
CHAPTER LIX.
Thf. foregoing elegant chapter contained a severe reproof
of the Jevv.«, in particular for their hypocrisy in pretending to
make themselves accepted Vi^ith God by fasting and outward
humiliation without true repentance, while they still continued
to oppress the poor, and to indulge their own passions and
vices ; with great promises, however, of God's favour on con-
dition of their reformation. This chapter contains a more gen-
eral reproof of their wickedness ; bloodshed, violence, falsehood,
injustice. At ver. 9. they are introduced as making them-
selves an ample Confession of their sins, and deploring (heir
wretched state in consequence of them. On this act of humi-
liation a promise is given, that God, in his mercy and zeal for
his people, will rescue them from this miserable condition ;
ihat the Redeemer will come like a mighty hero to deliver
them : he will destroy his enemies, convert both Jews and
< xentiles to himself, and give them a new covenant, and a
law, which shall never be abolished.
As this chapter is remarkable for the beauty, strength, and
variety of the images with which it abounds ; so is it peculiar-
ly distinguished by the elegance of the composition, and the
exact construction of the sentences : from the first verse to the
fwo last, it falls regularly into stanzas of four lines, (see Prcl.
Dissert, p. xiii.), which I have endeavoured to express as near-
ly as possible in the form of the original.
:i. Hia face — j For djs, /oce^r, I read y22, his face. So
Syr. LXX, Alex. Arab. Vujg. 'J3, MS. '• Forte legenduni
•j£3 : nam d sequitur, et loquitur Deus : confer Iviii. 14. : ''
Sfxkek. I rather think that the speech of God was closed
with the last chapter ; and that this chapter is delivered in the
person of the Prophet.
3. And your tongue — ] An ancient MS, and LXX and
Vulg. add the conjunction.
8. Whoever goelk in them — ] For n3 singular, read D3
|ilural, with LXX, Syr. Vulg. Chald. Then is upon a rasure
in MS. Or for Dn'n3M3 plural, we must read oro'nJ singular,
CHAP, LIX. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 379
as it is in an ancient MS, to preserve the grammatical
concord.
10. And we wander — ^] I adopt here an emendation of
Houbigant, rujtyj, instead of the second ntyi^jj, the repetition
of which has a poverty and inelegance extremely unworthy
of the Prophet, and unlike his manner. The mistake is of
long standing, being prior to all the ancient versions : it was
a very easy and obvious mistake ; and I have little doubt of
our having recovered the true reading in this ingenious cor-
rection.
11. — and it is far distant from us.] The conjunction i
iiMust necessarily be prefixed to the verb, as Syr. Chald. Vulg.
found it in their copies, rr^nn'-
15. And Jehovah saw it^ ] This third line
of the stanza appears manifestly to me to be imperfect by the
loss of a phrase. The reader will perhaps more perfectly con-
ceive my idea of the matter, if I endeavour to supply the sup-
posed defect. I imagine it might have stood originally in this
(Tianner :
" And Jehovah saw it, [and he was wroth] :
And it displeased him, that there was no judgment."
We have had already many examples of mistakes of omis-
sion : this, if it be such, is very ancient, being prior to all the
versions.
17. — for his clothing] TS{ijiir\- " I cannot but think
that ntynSn is an interpolation. 1. It is in no one ^cient
version. 2. It is redundant in the sense, as it is before ex-
pressed in '"Ml. 3. It makes the hemistich just so much
longer than it ought to be, if it is compared with the others
adjoining. 4. It makes a form of construction in this clause
less elegant than that in the others. .5. It might probably
be in some margin a various reading for nj^, and thence
taken into the text. This is the more probable, as its form is
such as it would be if it were in regimine. as it must be be-
fore DpJ : " Dr. JuBB.
18. He is might// — ] The former part of this verse, as
it stands at present in the Hebrew text, seems to me to be
very imperfect, and absolutely unintelligible. The learned
Vitringa has taken a great deal of pains upon it, after
Cocceius ; who, he says, is the only one of all the interpre-
ters, ancient or modern, who has at all underst^d it, and
Ihas opened the way for him. He thinks, that both of them
380 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. 1.1X.
together have clearly made out the sense : I do not expect
that any third person will ever be of that opinion. He
says, " Videtur sententia ad verbum sonare : quasi propter
facta [adversariorum] quasi propter rependet ; excandescen-
tiam, 6cc. et sic reddidit Pagninus." This he converts, by
a process which will not much edify my reader, into " Se-
cundum summe merita, secundum summe [merita] repen-
det ; " which is his translation. They that hold the present
Hebrew text to be absolutely infallible, must make their way
through it as they can ; but they ought surely to give us some-
what that has at least the appearance of sense. However,
I hope the case here is not quite desperate : the Chaldee
leads us very fairly to the correction of the text, which is
both corrupted and defective. The paraphrase runs thus :
d'71?'' vhoi Nin ^♦h'Dj 'ID, " Dominus retributionum ipse retribu-
tionem reddet."' He manifestly read by2, instead of hy^.
x*bDJ no is mSoj hj;2 ; as xnnnnD '"lo, is t]N ^jtd, Prov. xxii.
24. And so in the same Chaldee paraphrase on Isaiah
XXXV. 4. »'?jn' Nin " H'^dj ""id, " Dominus retributionum Je-
hovah ipse revelabitur." Words very near to those of
the Prophet in this place. The second ^;0, which the
Chaldee has omitted, must be read by2 likewise. With
this only addition to the Chaldee, which the Hebrew text
justifies, we are supphed with the following clear reading of
the passage : —
N*in ni^iDJ hy2
The 3 in '^yo twice seems to have been at first 3 in MS.
This verse in LXX is very imperfect. In the first part of it
they give us no assistance ; the last part is wholly omitted in
the printed copies ; but it is thus supplied in MSS Pachom.
and I. D. 11. — tois VJievavnoLS avzov afivvav rote: a^Ogoi?
avzov xaii; v?]dois ano^o/^a aTtoridH.
19. — which a strong wind driveth along\ " (iuam spi-
ritus Domini cogit ; " Vulg. riDDU, pihel a ou fugit. Kimchi
says, his father thus explained this word : " noDU interpreta-
tur in significatione fugse ; et ait, Spiritus Domini fugabit
hostem ; — nam secundum eum noDU est ex conjugatione
quadrata, ej usque radix est dij." The object of this action 1
explain otherwise. The conjunction 1 prefixed to nn seems
necessary to the sense : it is added by the corrector in one of
iihe Koningsberg MSS collated by Lilienthal.
20. And shall turn aivay iniquity from Jacob^ So LXX,
and St. ]rt.ul, Rom. xi. 26. ; reading, instead of ^ywh and
CBi^P. LIX. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 381
:ipyo-, n'B^ni and 2^p^D. Syr. likewise reads ij'tJTii; and
Chaid. to the same sense, 3'E?nSi. Our translators have
expressed the sense of the present reading of the Hebrew text :
" And unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob."
21. — %Dhich I make idUIi them] For dhin, them twenty-
four MSS (four ancient) and nine editions have oriN, ici'th
iheKi.
CHAPTER LX.
The subject of this chapter is the great increase and
flourishing state of the church of God, by the conversion and
accession of the heathen nations to it ; which is set forth in
such ample and exalted terras as plainly shew, that the full
completion of this prophecy is reserved for future times.
This subject is displayed in the most splendid colours, under
a great variety of images highly poetical, designed to give
a general idea of the glories of that perfect state of the
church of God which we are taught to expect in the latter
times ; when the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, and
the Jews shall be converted and gathered from their disper-
sions ; and the kingdoms of this world shall become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.
Of the use in prophecy of general or common poetical
images, in setting forth the greatness and importance of a
future event universally, without descending to particulars,
or too minutely explaining circumstances, I have already
pretty largely treated in the xxth Prelection on the Hebrew-
Poetry ; and have more than once observed in these notes,
that such images are not always to be applied particularly
to persons and things, and were never intended to be
mmutely explained. 1 shall add here the opinion of a very
learned and judicious person upon this subject : '• It is, I think,
a mark of right understanding in the language of prophecy,
and in the design of prophecy too, to keep to what appears
the design and meaning of the prophecy in general, and
what the whole of it, laid together, points out to us ; and
not to suffer a warm imagination to mislead us from the real
intention of the spirit of prophecy, by following uncertain
applications of the parts of it : " Lowman on the Revelation,
note on chap. xix. 21.
4, — shall be carried at the side] For nooNn, shall be
nursed, LXX and Chald. read nJXB'Jn, shall be carried.
A MS has njKK'jn f\r\3 bv, instead of njoxn nv ^v ; shall
382 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LX.
be carried on the shoulder, instead of shall be nursed on the
side. Another MS has both f^riD and -\)i. Another MS
has it thus: nj^xn: nJN'k^on, with a line drawn over the
first word. Sir John Chardin says; that it is the general
custom in the East to carry their children astride upon the
hip, with the arm round their body. His MS note on this
place is as follows : " ('outumc en Orient de porter les en-
fans sur le coste a califourchon sur la hanche : cette fagon
est generale aux Indes ; les enfans se tiennent comnie cela,
et la person ne qui les porte les ernbrasse et serre par le
corps ; parceque sont [ni] emmaillotteS; ni en robes qui les
embrassent."
" Non brachiis occidentalium more, sed humeris, diva-
ricatis tibiis, impositos circumferunt : " Cotovic. Iter Syr.
cap. xiv. This last quotation seems to favour the reading-
nro b;?; as the LXX likewise do : but upon the whole 1
think that nJNtj;jn n:r b}; is the true reading, which the
Chaldee favours ; and I have accordingly followed it. See
chap. Ixvi. 12.
5. Then shalt thou fear — ] For 'xin, thou shalt see, as
ours, and much the greater number of the translators, an-
cient and modern, render it ; forty MSS (ten ancient), and
the old edition of 1488. have "Nvn, thou shalt fear ; the
true reading, confirmed by the perfect parallelism of the
sentences : the heart ruffled and dilated in the second line
answering to the fear and joy expressed in the first. The
Prophet Jeremiah (chap, xxxiii. 9.) has the same natural and
elegant sentiment : —
" And [this city] shall become to me a name of joy ;
A praise and an honour for all the nations of the earth ;
Which shall hear all the good that I do unto them ;
And they shall fear, and they shall tremble, at ^all the good-
ness.
And at all the prosperity, that I procure unto her."
And David, (Psal. cxxxix. 14.)
" I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.'*
" His tibi me rebus quajdam divina voluptas
Percipit atque horror." Lucret. iii. 28.
" Recenti mens trepidat metu,
Plenoque Bacchi pectore turbidum
Laitatur." Hor. Carm. ii. 19.
6. And the praise of Jehovah— ] Thirty-three MSS
and three editions have n'7nni, in the singular number ; and
80 read the ancient versions.
CHAP, LX. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 383
7. Unto thee shall the rams of Nehaioth oninister\ ?i-
Iriuga (on the place) understands their ministering, and
ascending, or going up on the altar, as offering themselves
voluntarily : " Ipsi se, non expectato sacerdote alio, gloriee
et sanctificationi Divlni nominis ultro ac libenter oblaturi."
This gives a very elegant and poetical turn to the image.
It was a general notion that prevailed with sacrificers among
the heathen, that the victim's being brought without reluc-
tance to the alt:ir v» as a good omen ; and the contrary a bad
one. " Sabinos petit aUquanto tristior ; quod sacrificanti
hosiia aufugerat : " Sueton. Titus, cap. x. " Accessit dirimi
omen, profugus altaribus taurus : " Tacit. Hist. iii. 56.
8. And like doves upon the wing^ Instead of *?«, ?o, for-
ty-two MSS have "?>', upon. For Drrnnix, their windoios,
read nn'm^x, their wings, transposing a letter : Houbi-
gant. The LXX render it (>vv reoaaoi^;, with their young :
they read Dn'niax; nearer to the latter, than to the present
reading.
9. — among the first — ] For nJiyt^ia, twenty-five MSS
and Syr. read n^B'NinD, as at the first.
13. — the place whereon T rest my feet'\ The temple of
Jerusalem was called the house of God, and the place of his
rest or residence : the visible symbolical appearance of Go*'.
called by the Jews the Siiechinah, was in the most holy
place, between the wings of the cherubim above the ark.
This is considered as the throne of God, presiding as king
over the Jewish state ; and as a footstool is a necessary ap-
pendage of a throne, (see note on chap. Iii. 2.), the ark is con-
sidered as the footstool of God : and is so called, Psal. xcix, 5.
! Chron. xxviii. 2.
Ibid. The glory of Lebanon] That is,',the cedar.
19. Nor hy night shall the brightness of the moon en-
lighten thee] This line, as it stands in the present text,
seems to be defective. The LXX and Chald. both express
the night, which is almost necessary to answer to day in the
preceding line, as well as to ])erfect the sense here. I there-
fore think that we ought, upon the authority of LXX and
Chald. to read either n^'^i, and by night, instead of mm,
and for brightness : or n^'b^ na^Si, adding the word nVS^,
by night.
21. —of my planting] ';':3D, so with the Keri read forty-
^lur MSS (seven ancient) and six editions ; with which agree
Syr. Chald. Vulg.
384 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LXt.
CHAPTER LXI.
1. The Spirit of Jehovah— \ The LXX, Vulg. and
St Luke iv. 18. and MS, and two old editions, omit the word
•■JIN, the Lord; wliich was probably added to the text through
the superstition of the Jews, to prevent the pronunciation of
ihe word nin' following. See Kennicott on the State of the
Printed Heb. Text, i. p. 510.
Ibid. — perfect liberty] Ten MSS and one edition have
mpnpa in one word ; and so the LXX and Vulg. appeal to
have taken it.
The proclaiming of perfect liberty to the bounden, and the
year of acceptance with Jehovah, is a manifest allusion to
the proclaiming of the year of jubilee by sound of trumpet :
see Lev. xxv. 9. <fcc. This was a year of general release —
of debts and obligations ; of bond men and women ; of lands
and possessions, which had been sold from the families and
tribes to which they belonged. Our Saviour, by applying this
text to himself, Luke iv. 18, 19. a text so manifestly relating
to the institution above-mentioned, plainly declares the typicaJ
design of that institution.
3. To impart [gladness] to the tnourners] A word ne-
cessary to the sense is certainly lost in this place ; of which
the ancient versions have preserved no traces. Houbigant,
by conjecture, inserts the word ptyty, gladness, taken from the
line next but one below, where it stands opposed to '73K, sor-
row, or onourning ; as the word lost here was to 'Vdx, mourn-
ers ; I follow him.
Ibid. — a beautiful crown, instead of ashes\ In times of
mourning the Jews put on sackcloth, or coarse and sordid
raiment ; and spread dust and ashes on their heads : on the
contrary, splendid clothing, and ointment poured on the
head, were the signs of joy. " Feign thyself to be a inoura-
er," says Joab to the woman of Tekoah, " and put on nov.
mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil ; " 2 Sam.
xiv. 2. These customs are at large expressed in the book of
Judith : '•' She pulled off the sackcloth which she had on,
and put off the garments of her widowhood, and washed bet
liody all over with water, and anointed herself with precious
ointment, and braided the hair of her head, and put on a tiro
[mitre, marg.] upon it; and put on her garments of glad
ness ; " chap. x. 3.
Phear, instead of apher : a paronomasia, which the Pro
CHAP. LXr. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 385
phet often uses : a chaplet, crown, or other ornament of the
head, (for so the Vulgate renders the word here, and in the
10th verse ; in which last place the LXX agree in the same
rendering), instead of dust and ashes, which before covered
it ; and the costly ointments used on occasion of festivity, in-
stead of the ensigns of sorrow.
Ibid. — trees approved] Heb. oalcs of righteousness^ or
truth ; that is, such as by their flourishing condition should
shew that they were indeed " the cion of God's planting, and
the work of his hands : " under which images, in the preced-
ing chap. ver. 21. the true servants of God, in a highly im-
proved state of the church, were represented ; that is, says Vi-
tringa on that place, " commendable for the strength of their
faith, their durability, and firmness."
4. And they that spring from thee] A word is lost here
likewise. After ij3i, they shall build, add -jod, they that
spring from thee. Four MSS have it so, (two of them an-
cient), and it is confirmed by chap. Iviii. 12. where the sen-
tence is the very same, this word being here added. Kimchi
makes the same remark : " the word "jod is omitted here ; but
is found in chap. Iviii. 12."
7. Instead of yoiir shame — ] The translation of this
verse, which is very confused, and probably corrupted in the
Hebrew, is taken from the Syriac version ; except that the
latter has not expressed the word n:tyD, double, in the first
place. Five MSS add the conjunction i to nnnt!^. Syr. reads
iJin and iK'Tn in the second person, " ye shall rejoice, ye shall
inherit." And for on*?, to them, two MSS (one of them
ancient), and Syr. read ddV, to you, in the second person
likewise.
The version of the LXX is imperfect in this place : the
first half of the verse is entirely omitted in all the printed
copies. It is supplied by MSS Pachom. and i. D. ii. in the
following manner :
Aix Tovro Tijv yriv ccvruv ex. i'evrt^ov
In which the two MSS agree, except that i. D. ii. has by
mistake rji^egag for ri fiegis. And Cod. Marchal. in the mar-
gin, has pretty nearly the same supplement as from Theodotion.
8. — and iniquity] Syr. and Chald. prefix the conjunc-
tion 1, instead of the preposition 3, to nVi;* ; which they render
iniquity or oppression • and so the LXX, adtxtas.
38
386 NOTES ON ISAIAH, CHAP. LXl.
10. As the bridegroom decketh himself with a priestly
Qrown] An allusion to the magnificent dress of the High
Priest, when performing his functions ; and particularly to
the mitre, and crown, or plate of gold on the front of it ;
Exod. xxix. 6. The bonnet or mitre of the priests also was
made, as Moses expresses it, " for glory and for beauty ; "
Exod. xxviii. 40. It is difficult to give its full force to the
Prophet's metaphor in another language ; the version of
Aquila and Symmachus comes nearest to it : dx; vvfi(pio^
cegazevouerov Gzetpavw,
11. The Lord Jehovah — J " nx, the Lord, makes the
line longer than the preceding and following : and LXX,
Alex, [and MSS Pachom. and i. D. ii.] and Arab, do not
render it. Hence it seems to be interpolated : " Dr. Jubb.
Three MSS have it not : See note on ver. 1. of this chapter.
CHAPTER LXn.
5. For as a young man — so — ] The particles of com-
parison are not at present in the Hebrew text ; but the LXX,
Syr. and Chald. seem to have read in their copies d prefixed
to the verb '7;;30 o, which seems to have been omitted
by mistake of a transcriber, occasioned by the repetition of
the same two letters. And before the verb in the second
line a MS adds p, so ; which the LXX, Syr. and Chald.
seem also to have had in their copies. In the third line of
this verse the same MS has in like manner i^ityD^i, and two
MSS and the Babylonish Talmud c^ityoD, adding the 3: and
in the fourth line, the Babylonish Talmud likewise adds p, so.
before the verb.
Sir John Chardin, in his note on this place, tells us, " that
it is the custom in the East for youths, that were never mar-
ried, always to marry virgins ; and widowers, however young,
to marry widows : " Harmer, Observ. ii. p. 482.
Ibid. — thy restorer — ] :T]3; see note on chap. xlix. 17.
6. O ye that proclaim — ] The faithful, and in particu-
lar the priests and Levites, are exhorted by the Prophet to
beseech God, with imremilted importunity, (compare Luke
xviii. 1. &c.), to hasten the redemption of Sion. Tha image
in this place is taken from the temple service : in which there
was appointed a constant watch, day and night, by the Le-
vites : and among them this service seems to have belonged
particularly to the singers ; see 1 Chron. ix. 33, Now the
watches in the East, even to this day, are performed by a loud
cry fiom time to time of the watchmen, to mark the time, and
CHAP. LXII. NOTES ON IS\IAH. 387
that very frequently, and in order to show that they theni-
selves are constantly attentive to their duty. Hence the
watchmen are said by the Prophet, chap. lii. 8. to lift up
their voice ; and here they are commanded, not to keep
silence ; and the greatest reproach to them is, that they are
dumb dogs : they cannot hark ; dreamers, sluggards, lov-
ing to slumber : chap. Ivi. 10. " The watchmen in the
camp of the caravans go their rounds, crying one after another,
• God is One, He is merciful ; ' and often add, ' Take heed to
yourselves:'" Tavernier, Voyage de Perse, liv. i. chap. x.
The cxxxivth Psalm gives us an example of the temple
watch. The whole Psalm is nothing more than the alternate
cry of two different divisions of the watch. The first watch
addresses the second, reminding them of their duty ; the
second answers by a solemn blessing : the address and the
answer seem both to be a set form, which each division pro-
claimed, or sung aloud, at stated intervals, to notify the time
of the night : —
First Chorus.
" Come on now, bless ye Jehovah, all ye servants of Jehovah;
Ye that stand in the house of Jehovah in the nights:
Lift up your hands towards the sanctuary,
And bless ye Jehovah."
Second Chorus.
■" Jehovah bless thee out of Sion;
He that made heaven and earth."
•• Qui statis in loco ciistodice domus sanctuarii Jehov^,
et laudatis per noctes ; " says the Chaldee paraphrase on the
second line. And this explains w'hat is here particularly
meant by proclaiming, or making remembrance of, the name
of Jehovah. The form which the watch made use of on
these occasions was always a short sentence, expressing some
pious sentiment, of which Jehovah was the subject : and it
is remarkable, that the custom in the East in this respect also
still continues the very same ; as it appears by the example
above given from Tavernier.
And this observation leads to the explanation of an obscure
passage in the Prophet Malachi, ii. 12.
" Jehovah will cut ofT the man that doeth this ;
The watchman and the answerer, from the tabernacles of
Jacob;
And him that presenteth an offering to Jehovah God of
Hosts."
388 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LXII.
njjri ijr, the ?naster and the scholar, says our translation after
Vulg. ; the son and the grandson, says Syr. and Chald. as
little to the purpose : Arias Montanus has given it. vigilantem
et respondentem, the watchman and the answerer ; that is,
the Levite : and him that presenteth an offering to JeJiovah ;
that is, the priest.
9. But they that reap the harvest shall eat it, and praise
Jehovah — ] This and the following line have reference to
the law of Moses : " Thou jnayest not eat within thy gates
the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of th}'^ oil ; — but thou
must eat them before the Lord thy God, in the place which
the Lord thy God shall choose ; " Deut. xii. 17, 18. " And
when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all
manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit there-
of as uncircumcised : three years it shall be as uncircumcised
unto you ; it shall not be eaten of. But in the fourth year
all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the Lord withal.
And in the fifth year ye shall eat the fruit thereof: "' Lev. xix.
23 — ^25. This clearly explains the force of the expressions,
" shall praise Jehovah," and " shall drink it in my sacred
courts."
Five MSS (one ancient) have im'?D«», fullj expressed :
and so likewise inini5'» is found in nineteen MSS, three of
them ancient.
10 — -for the people] Before the word D^'n, the people,
two MSS insert nirr, Jehovah ; one MS adds the same word
after it ; and eight MSS (three ancient), instead of Dyrr have
mn', and so likewise one edition. But though it makes a
good sense either way, I believe it to be an interpolation, as
the ancient versions do not favour it. The LXX indeed read
"d;', my people.
11. — Lo ! thy Saviour — ] So all the ancient versions
render the word "^yw.
Ibid. Lo ! his reward — ] See note on chap. xl. 10.
CHAPTER LXIIL
The very remarkable passage with which this chapter be-
gins, seems to me to be in a manner detached from the rest,
and to stand singly by itself ; having no immediate connec-
tion with what goes before, or with what follows ; otherwise
than as it may pursue the general design, and stand in its
proper place in the order of propiiecy. ft is by many learned
CHAP, LXIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 389
interpreters supposed, that Judas Maccabeus and his victories
make the subject of it. What claim Judas can have to so
great an honour, will, I think, be very difficult to make
out ; or how the attributes of the great person introduced
can possibly suit him. Could Judas call himself the an-
nouncer of righteousness, mighty to save ? Could he talk of
the day of vengeance being in his heart, and the year of his
redeemed being come ? or that his own arm wrought salva-
tion for him ? Besides, what were the great exploits of Judas
in regard to the Idumeans ? he overcame them in battle, and
slew twenty thousand of them : and John Hyrcanus, his
brother Simon's son and successor, who is called in to help
out the accomplishment of the prophecy, gave them another
defeat some time afterward, and compelled them by force to
become proselytes to the Jewish religion, and to submit to
circumcision ; after which they were incorporated with the
Jews, and became one people with them. Are these events
adequate to the Prophet's lofty prediction ? Was it so great
an action to win a battle with considerable slaughter of the
enemy ; or to force a whole nation by dint of the sword into
Judaism ? or was the conversion of the Idumeans, however
effected, and their admission into the church of God, equi-
valent to a most grievous judgment and destruction threat-
ened in the severest terms ? — But here is another very ma-
terial circumstance to be considered, which, I presume, en-
tirely excludes Judas Maccabeus, and even the Idumeans
properly so called : The Idumea of the Prophet's time was
quite a different country from that which Judas conquered ;
for, during the Babylonish captivity, the Nabatheans had
driven the Edomites out of their country, who upon that took
possession of the southern parts of Judea, and settled them-
selves there ; that is, in the country of the whole tribe of
Simeon, and in half of that of Judah : See Prideaux, ad An.
740 et 165. : And the metropolis of the Edomites, and of the
country thence called Idumea, which Judas took, was Hebron,
I Mace. V. 65. not Botsra.
I conclude therefore, that this prophecy has not the least
relation to Judas Maccabeus. It may be asked, To whom,
and to what event does it relate ? I can only answer, that
I know of no event in history to which, from its importance
and circumstances, it can be applied ; unless perhaps to the
destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish polity, which in
the gospel is called the coming of Christ, and the days of
38*
390 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LXIII.
vengeance ; Matt. xvi. 28. Luke xxi. 22. But, though this
prophecy must have its accomplishment, there is no necessity
of supposing that it lias been already accomplished. There
are prophecies, which intimate a great slaughter of the
enemies of God and his people, which remain to be fulfilled.
Those in Ezekiel, chap, xxxviii. and in the Revelation of St.
John, chap. xx. are called Gog and Magog. This prophecy
of Isaiah may possibly refer to the same or the like event.
We need not be at a loss to determine the person who is
here introduced as stained with treading the wine-press, if
we consider how St. John in the Revelation has applied this
image of the Prophet : Rev. xix. 13. 15, 16. : compare chap,
xxxiv.
1. 1 who announce righteousness, and — ] A MS has
i2non, with the demonstrative article added, with greater force
and emphasis. The announcer of righteousness. A MS has
npny, without 3 prefixed; and so LXX and Vulg. And
thirty-eight MSS (seven ancient) add the conjunction i to 3i;
which the LXX Syr. and Vulg. confirm.
2. Wherefore is thine apparel red — ] For •jtyia'?'?, twen-
ty-nine MSS (nine ancient), and one edition, have ya^n^b in
the plural : so LXX and Syr. And all the ancient versions
read it with d instead of the first b. But the true reading is
probably ii^dSd in the singular, as in ver. 3.
3. And I have stained — ] For rhi^ia, a verb of very
inegular formation, compounded, as they say, of the two forms
of the preterite and future, a MS has inSxJN, the regular
future with a pleonastic pronoun added to it, according to the
Hebrew idiom : '-And all my raiment, I have stained it."
The necessity of the verb's being in the past lime, seems to
have given occasion to the alteration made in the end of the
word. The conversive 1 at the beginning of the sentence
affects the verb, thougli not joined to it : of which there are
many examples : —
" And thou wilt hear me, (or hear thou me), from among
the horns of the unicorns." Psal. xxii. 22.
7. And mine indignation — J For 'nnm, nineteen MSS
(three ancient), and four editions, have ♦npnxi, and my right-
eousness ; from chap. lix. 16. which, I suppose, the trans-
criber retained in his memory.
6. And 1 crushed them] For didk'ni, " and I made
them drunken," twenty-seven MSS (three ancient), and
CHAP. LXIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 391
the old edition of 1488, have Di3tyxi, " and I crushed them :"
and so Syr. and Chald. The LXX have omitted this whole
line.
7. The remaining part of this chapter, with the whole
chapter following, contains a penitential confession and sup-
plication of the Israelites in their present state of dispersion,
in which they have so long marvellously subsisted, and still
continue to subsist, as a people ; cast out of their country ;
without any proper form of civil polity, or rehgious worship ;
their temple destroyed, their city desolated and lost to them ;
and their whole nation scattered over the face of the earth ;
apparently deserted and cast off by the God of their fathers,
as no longer his peculiar people.
They begin with acknowledging God's great mercies and
favours to their nation, and the ungrateful returns made
to them on their part ; that by their disobedience they had
forfeited the protection of God, and had caused him to be-
come their adversary. And now the Prophet represents
them, induced by the memory of the great things that God
had done for them, as addressing their humble supplication
for the renewal of his mercies : They beseech him to regard
them in consideration of his former loving-kindness ; they
acknowledge him for their Father and Creator ; they confess
their wickedness and hardness of heart ; they entreat his
forgiveness ; and deplore their present miserable condition
under which they have so long suffered. It seems designed
as a formulary of humiliation for the Israelites, in order to
their conversion.
The whole passage is in the elegiac form, pathetic and ele-
gant ; but it has suffered much in our present copy by the
mistakes of transcribers.
Ibid. — the praise of Jehovah] For ni'?nn, plural,
twenty-nine MSS (three ancient), and two editions, have
nbnn, in the singular number : and so the Vulgate renders
it ; and one of the Greek versions, in the margin of Cod.
Marchal. and in the text of MSS Pachom. and i. D. ii. t?jv
an't6iv xvgiov,
8, 9. And he became their saviour in all their distress — ]
I have followed the translation of the LXX in the latter
part of the Sth and the former part of the 9th verse ; which
agrees with the present text, a little differently divided, as
to the members of the sentence. They read bjn, out of ally
instead of ^d3, in all, which makes no difference in the
sense ; and iy they understaad as tv. Kai sysvero avrocg eis
392 XOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LXIII,
6coT7]giar ay. jtadr,g 'd'Xiipeo^g avrun-'ov ngedSve, ovde ayyeXog —
An angel of his presence means an angel of superior order, in
immediate attendance upon God. So the angel of the Lord
says to Zacharias, " I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence
of God ; " Luke i. 19. The presence of Jehovah, Exod.
xxxiii. 14, 15. and the angel, Exod. xxiii. 20, 21. is Jehovah
himself : here, an angel of his presence is opposed to Jehovah
himself; as an angel is in the following passages of the same
book of Exodus. After their idolatrous worshipping of the
golden calf, " when God had said to Moses, I will send an an-
gel before thee — I will not go up in the midst of thee — the
people mourned," Exod. xxxiii. 2 — 4. God afterwards com-
forts Moses by saying, "My presence (that is, I myself in
person, and not by an angel) will go with thee," ver. 14. avrog
xgo7togev6o/nai dov^ as the LXX render it.
The MSS and editions are much divided between the two
readings of the text and margin in the common copies, ih and
1*7. All the ancient versions express the chetib nS.
Ibid. And he took them up, and he hare them] See the
note on chap. xlvi. 3.
10. Aiid he fought against them] Twenty -six MSS
(ten ancient), and the first edition, with another, add the con-
junction 1, xini.
11. How he brought them up from the sea with the shep-
herd of his flock ; How — ] For rrx, how, interrogative,
twice, the Syriac version reads yx, how, without interrogation ;
as that particle is used in the Syriac language, and sometimes
in the Hebrew. See Ruth iii. 18. Eccles. ii. 16.
Ibid. Moses his servant — ] For M^y, his people, two
MSS (one of them ancient), and the old edition of 1488,
and Syr. read n3;r, his servant. These two words have been
mistaken one for the other in other places : Psal. Ixxviii.
71. and Ixxx. 5. for iD;r and p;;, the LXX read n3;r and
Ibid. — the shepherd ofhisjlock'] That is, Moses. The
MSS and editions vary in this word : some have it n;'i in
the singular number ; so LXX, Syr. Chald. ; others *y^,
plural.
14. The spirit of Jehovah conducted them] For un'Jn,
caused him to rest, the LXX have Mdrjyridev avrovg, conduct-
ed them. They read omn : Syr, Chald. Vulg. read unan,
conducted him. Two MSS have the word without the ' in
the middle.
Iii. — and thy mighty power'] For ymiaj, plural, thirty-
CHAP. LXIII. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 393
two MSS (seven ancient), and seven editions, have ^muj, sin-
gular.
Ibid. — are they restrained from us] For ^bii,from (or
in regard to) nie, LXX and Syr. read ir^x, from 7is.
16. O deliver us for the sake of thy na7ne] Tlie present
text reads, as ouv translation has rendered it, " Our Re-
deemer, thy name is from everlasting." But instead of
d'71;?o, frofji everlastings an ancient MS has \)!&},for the
sake of, which gives a much better sense. To shew the
impropriety of the present reading, it is sufficient to observe,
that the LXX and Syriac translators thought it necessary
to add ir^;?, upon us, to make out the sense ; that is, " Thy
name is upon us, or we are called by thy name, from of old.'"
And the LXX have rendered ijVnj in the imperative mood.
13. It is little that they have taken possession of thy holy
mountaiti] The difficulty of the construction in this place
is acknowledged on all hands. Vitringa prefers that sense
as the least exceptionable, which our translation has ex-
pressed ; in which however there seems to me to be a great
defect ; that is, the want of what in the speaker's view must
have been the principal part of the proposition, the object
of the verb, t/ie land, or it, as our translators supply it ; which
surely ought to have been expressed, and not to have been
left to be supplied by the reader. In a word, I believe, there
is some mistake in the text. And here the LXX help us out :
they had in their copy -in, mountain, instead of D;r, people ;
Tov ogov? Tov dyiov dov. " Not only our enemies have taken
possession of Mount Sion, and trodden down thy sanctuary ;
even far worse than this has befallen us : Thou hast long
since utterly cast us off; and dost not consider us as thy pe-
culiar people."
CHAPTER LXIV.
2. — the dry fuel — ] D'Onn. " It means dry stubble,
and the root isonn, " says Rabbi Jonah, apud Sal. ben Melech
in loc. Which is approved by SchuUens, Orig. Hebr. p. 30.
'• The fire kindling the stubble does not seem like enough
to the melting of the mountains to be brought as a simile to it.
Quid si sic ?
That the mountains might flow down at thy presence I
As the fire of things smelted burneth,
As the fire causeth the waters to boil —
394 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LXIV.
There is no doubt of tlie Hebrew words of the second Une
bearing that version : " Dr Jubb.
I submit these different interpretations to the reader's judg-
ment. For my own part, I am inclined to think that the
text is much corrupted in this place. The ancient versions
have not the least traces of either of the above interpretations.
The LXX and Syr. agree exactly together in rendering this
line by, " As the wax melted before the fire," which can by
no means be reconciled with the present text. Vulg. for
D'oon reads idd".
Ibid. That the nations — ] For D'U, the nations, four
MSS (one of them ancient) have onn, the tnountains.
4. For never have men heard — ] St. Paul is generally
supposed to have quoted this passage of Isaiah, 1 Cor. ii. 9. ;
and Clemens Romanus, in his first epistle, has made the
same quotation, very nearly in the same words with the
apostle. But the citation is so very different both from the
Hebrew text and the version of LXX, that it seems very
diflficult, if not impossible, to reconcile them by any literal
emendation, without going beyond the bounds of temperate
criticism. One clause, " neither hath it entered into the
heart of man," (which, by the way, is a phrase purely He-
brew, 3^ "7j; rh^, and should seem to belong to the Pro-
phet), is wholly left out ; and another is repeated without
force or propriety, viz. " nor perceived by the ear," after
" never have heard : " and the sense and expression of the
apostle is far preferable to that of the Hebrew text. Under
these difficulties, I am at a loss what to do better than to
offer to the reader this, perhaps disagreeable, alternative ;
Either to consider the Hebrew text and LXX in this place
as wilfully disguised and corrupted by the Jews : of which
practice, in regard to other quotations in the New Testa-
ment from the Old, they lie under strong suspicions ; (see
Dr. Owen on the Version of the Seventy, sect. vi. — ix.) ; or
to look upon St. Paul's quotation as not made from Isaiah,
but from one or other of the two apocryphal books en-
titled, The Ascension of Esaiah, and The Apocalyps of
Elias, in both of which this passage was found ; and the
apostle is by some supposed in other places to have quoted
such apocryphal writings. As the first of these conclusions
will perhaps not easily be admitted by many ; so I must
fairly warn my readers, that the second is treated by Jeroni
as little better than heresy. See his comment on this place
of Isaiah.
CHAP. LXIV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 395
The variations on this place are as follows : for U'Dty, they
have heard, a MS and LXX read 13;;de', we have heard :
for the second vh, sixty-nine MSS and four editions have x^i ;
and Syr. Chald. Vulg. ; and so \'p, LXX Syr. nx is added be-
fore U'vh^ in MS Bodl. onoS plural, two MSS, and all the
ancient versions.
5. Thou meetest loith joy those — ] Syr. reads — nnx ;uii3
■'tr'p WW-
Ibid. Because of our deeds-, for we have been rebellious.^
yiw^y\ D*?!;; Dn3. 1 am fully persuaded, that these words,
as they stand in the present Hebrew text, are utterly unin-
telligible : there is no doubt of the meaning of each word
separately, but put together thiey make no sense at all. I
conclude, therefore, that the copy has suffered by mistakes
of transcribers in this place. The corruption is of long
standing ; for the ancient interpreters were as much at a
loss for the meaning as the moderns, and give nothing satis-
factory. The LXX render these words by Sue zovzo ejiXarr,-
driixev: they seem to have read ;?iy3J Dn»Vj without helping
the sense. In this difficulty, what remains but to have re-
course to conjecture ? Archbishop Secker was dissatisfied
with the present reading : he proposes, ])my\ yv^yi I33n ; " look
upon us, and we shall, or that we may, be saved ; " which
gives a very good sense, but seems to have no sufficient foun-
dation. Besides, the word jr^yui, which is attended with great
difficulties, seems to be corrupted, as well as the two pre-
ceding ; and the true reading of it is, I think, given by the
LXX, j-'tysji, ejilavrfirifiav^ (so they render the verb;rK;£3, chap,
xlvi. 8. and Ezek. xxxiii. 12), parallel to NWroi, v/xagzofier.
For D^iy Dn3, which mean nothing, I would propose wbhynr\ ;
which I presume was first altered to Dn'^b;>r32, an easy and
common mistake of the third person plural of the pronoun
for the first, (see note on chap, xxxiii. 2.), and then with
some further alteration to D^iy nnn. The on^V;;, which the
LXX probably found in their copy, seems to be a remnant of
This, it may be said, is imposing your sense upon the
Prophet. It may be so ; for perhaps these may not be the
very words of the Prophet : but however it is better than to
impose upon him what makes no sense at all ; as they gene-
rally do who pretend to render such corrupted passages.
For instance, our own translators: "In those is continu-
ance, and we shall be saved : " In those— in whom, or what I
396 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LXIV.
There is no antecedent to the relative. In the loays of God,
say some : with our fathers, says Vitiinga, joining it in con-
struction with the verb nsi'p, thou hast been angry idth
them, our fathers ; and putting Ntami, for we have sinned.
in a parenthesis. But theie has not been any mention of
our fathers: and the whole sentence, thus disposed, is
utterly discordant from the Hebrew idiom and construction.
In those is continuance : d'?^ means a destined, but hidden
and unknown, portion of time ; but cannot mean continua-
tion of time, or continuance, as it is here rendered. Such
forced interpretations are equally conjectural with the boldest
critical emendation ; and generally have this further disad-
vantage,' that they are altogether unworthy of the sacred
writers.
6. There is no one — ] Twelve MSS have |'n, without the
conjunction i prefixed : and so read Chald. and Vulg.
ibid. And hast delivered us up — ] For ij:iDni, hast dissolved
m, LXX, Syr. Chald. had in their copies ujjon, hast delivered
us up : Houbigant ; Secker.
7. But Thou, O Jehovah, Thou — ] Fornn;n, and now,
five MSS (one of them ancient), and the two oldest editions
of 1486 and 1488, have nn^i, and thou ; and so Chald. seems
to have read. The repetition has great force. The other
word may be well spared.
Ibid. We are all of m the work of thy hands.] Three
MSS (two of them ancient), and LXX, read niyjro, with-
out the conjunction i prefixed. And for it, the Bodl. and
two other MSS, LXX,Syr.Vulg. read yr^ in the plural number.
CHAPTER LXV.
This chapter contains a defence of God's proceedings in
regard to the Jews, with reference to their complaint in the
chapter preceding. God is introduced declaring, that he
had called the Gentiles, though they had not sought him ;
and had rejected his own people, for their refusal to attend
to his repeated call ; for their obstinate disobedience, their
idolatrous practices, and detestable hypocrisy. That never-
theless he would not destroy them all ; but would preserve a
remnant, to whom he would make good his ancient promises.
Severe punishments are threatened to the apostates ; and
great rewards are promised to the obedient in a future flour-
ishing state of the church.
I. I am made known to those that asked not for we] 'ntymj,
CHAP. LXV. NOTKS OS ISAIAH. 397
^^«»«.-/««f«v, LXX, Alex, and St Paul. Rom. x. 20 • who
has however inverted the order of the phrases. .A^«n:/.v.,«^,
and ev^e»>p, from that which thev have in LXX '.lemj
means, '-qu^situs sum cum effectu— I am sought, so as to
be found:' \itring. If this l>e the true meaning of the
word then ibx!^, that asked, which foUows. should seem to
be defective, the verb wanting its object : but two MSS (one
ot them ancient) have -ihnii;, asked 7ne : and another MS
V^'^' ^~^^^, J'^'' ^^ •■ °"^ or other of which seems to be
right. But Cocceius in T.ex. and Vitringa in his translation
render 'ntini] by '•'• I have answered : • and so the word s
rendered b}- all the ancient versions in Ezek. xx. 3 31 If
this be right, the translation will be, '-'I have answered tho=e
that asked not.' I leave this to the readers judgment: but
u 'atS . ^''^^ '" ™>' translation the LXX. and St Paul, and
the MSS above mentioned, -jjyp^ is written regularly and fullv
in above a hundred MSS, and in the oldest edition, -jijypa.
3, 4. Sacrificing in the gardens, and—] These are in-
stances of heathenish superstition, and idolatrous practices,
to which the Jews were immoderatelv addicted before the
Babylonish captivit}-. The heathen worshipped their idols
in groves ; whereas God, in opposition to this species of
idolatry, commanded his people, when thev should come
into the promised land, to destroy all the places wherein the
Canaanites had served their gods, and in particular to burn
their groves with fire ; Deut. xii. 2, 3. These apostate Jews
sacrificed upon altars built of bricks, in opposition to the
command of God in regard to his altar, which was to be of
unhewn stone ; Exod. xx. 25. " — et pro uno altari, quod
impohtis lapidibus Dei erat lege constructum, coctos la-
teres et agrorum cespites hostiarum sanguine cruentabant : "
Hieron. in loc. Or it means, perhaps, that they sacrificed
upon the roofs of their houses, which v\-ere always flat, and
paved with brick, or tile, or plaster of terrace. An instance
of this idolatrous practice we find in 2 Kings xxiii. 12. where
it is said, that Josiah •■ beat down the altars that were on
the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of
Judah had made." See also Zeph. i. 5. Sir John Chardin's
MS note on this place of Isaiah is as follows : " Ainsi font
tous les Gentiles, sur les lieux eleves, et sur les terrasses.
appeUez lateres, parceque sont faits de briq." — - Who dwell
in the sepulchres, and lodge in the cavernsj'' for the pur-
poses of necromancy and divination ; to obtain dreams and
'39
398 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LXV.
revelations. Another instance of heathenish superstition : —
" Hue dona sacerdos
Cum tulit, et csesarum ovium sub nocte silenti
Pellibus incubuit stratis, somnosque petivit;
Multa modis simulacra videt volitantia miris,
Et varias audit voces, fiuiturque deorum
Colloquio, atque imis Acheronta affatur Avernis."
Virg. iEn. vii. 36.
" Here in distress the Italian nations come,
Anxious to clear their doubts, and learn their doom:
First, on the fleeces of the slaughtered sheep,
By night the sacred priest dissolves in sleep j
When, in a train, before his slumbering eye,
Thin airy forms and wondrous visions fly:
He calls the Powers who guard the infernal floods.
And talks, inspired, familiar with the gods." Pitt.
" Who eat sivme's Jlesh,^^ which was expressly forbidden
by the law, Lev. xi. 7. : but among" the heathen was in
principal request in their sacrifices and feasts. Antiochus
Epiphanes compelled the Jews to eat swine's flesh, as a full
proof of their renouncing their religion, 2 Mace. vi. 18. and
vii. X.—'-'- And the bj'oth of abo9ninable meats,'' for lustra-
tions, magical arts, and other superstitious and abominable
practices.
jbitj, — in the caverns.] Dnix:3, a word of doubtful sig-
nification. An ancient MS has nni:f3, another Dnyn, ?>.»
the rocks ; and Le Clerc thinks the LXX had it so in their
copy. They render it by sv toi^ e-vyiXxion;.
Xbid. — in their vessels.] For dh'Vd, a MS had at first
DH'bDn : so Vulg. and Chald. ; and the preposition seems
necessary to the sense.
5. — Por 1 am holier than ihon] So the Chaldee renders
it. I'ntyip is the same with -jod ^itjyip. In the same
manner unpin, Jer. xx. 7. is used for 'wn nptn, thou art
.stronger than I.
7. — into their hosom^ For 'ly, ten MSS and five edi-
tions have '7X. So again, at the end of this verse, se^^enteen
MSS and foin- editions have ^x.
6. 7. — their iniqnities and the iniquities of their father s\
For the pronoun atfixcd of the second person d3, your, twice,
read on, itieh\ in tlie third person : with LXX, and Houbigant.
8. — for the sahe of my scrvants'\ It is to be observed,
that one of the Koningsberg MSS collated by Lilienthal
points the word ■^3>•, singular ; that is, my servant, meaning
CHAP. LXV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 399
the Messiah ; and so read the LXX : which gives a very good
sense.
9. — inheritor of my mountain] nn, in the singular
number ; so LXX and Syr.; that is, olMount Sion. See ver.
11. and chap. Ivi. 7.; to which Sion, the pronoun feminine
singular, added to the verb in the next line, refers ; nitjn',
shall inherit her.
10. — Sharon, and the valley of Achor — ] Two of the
most fertile parts of Judea, famous for their rich pastures : the
former to the west, not far from Joppa ; the latter north of
Jericho, near Gilgal.
11. Who set in order a table for Gad — ] The disquisi-
tions and conjectures of the learned concerning Gad and
Meni are infinite and uncertain : perhaps the most probable
may be, that Gad means good fortune, and Meni the moon.
" But why should we be solicitous about it '/" says Schmi-
dius. '• It appears sufficiently, from the circumstance, that
they were false gods, either stars or some other natural ob-
•"% or a mere fiction. The Holy Scriptures did not deign
to explain more clearly what these objects of idolatrous wor-
ship were ; but chose rather that the memory of the knowl-
ledge of them should be utterly abolished. And God be
praised that they are so totally abolished, that we are now
quite at a loss to know what and what sort of things they
were :" Schmidius on the place, and on Judg. ii. 13. Bibl.
Hallensia.
Jerom, on the place, gives an account of this idolatrous prac-
tice of the apostate Jews, of making a feast, or a lectisterni-
um, as the Romans called it, for these pretended deities.
'• Est in cunctis urbibus^ et maxime in Mgy^io, et in Alex-
andria, idololatriee vetus consuetudo, ut ultimo die anni, et
mensis ejus qui extremus est, ponant rnensam refertam varii
generis epulis, et poculum mulso mixtum ; vel praeteriti anni
velfuturi fertilitatem auspicantes. Hoc autem faciebant et
Israelitae, omnium simulacrorum portenta veneraiites ; et
nequaquam altari victimas, sed hujusmodi mensa liba fun-
debant." See also Le Clerc on the place ; and on Ixvi. 17. and
Dav. Millii Dissert, v.
The allusion to Meni, which signifies number, is obvious.
If there had been the hke allusion to Gad, which might
have been expected, it might perhaps have helped to let us
into the meaning of that word. It appears from Jerom's ver-
sion of this place, that the words rcf, ^ui/mviu, (or ^ctifM*i, as
some copies have it), and rrt rv^n stood in his time in the
400 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LXV
Greek version in an inverted order from that which they
have in the present copies ; the latter then answering to ij,
the former to !Jd: Sy which some difficulty would be avoid-
ed ; for it is commonly supposed that n: signifies tv^k. See
Gen. XXX. 11. apud LXX. This matter is so far well cleared
up by MSS Pachom. and i. D. ii.; which agree in placing
these tu^o woids in that order which Jerom's version sup-
SIOSCS.
1.5. — shall slay you.'] For ir\''::>n, shall slay thee, h'KX
and Chald. read DDn"nm, shall slay you, plural.
17. — [create nev) heavens, and a new eartli] Concern-
ing this image and the application of it, see Dc S. Poes. Hebr.
Prael. ix.
18. — in the age io come, which I create~\ So in chap.
ix. -5. Tj '3X, Ttor.xr^^ Tov /uaXloTzos aivnvg., LXX. See Bisho;.'>
Chandler, Defence of Christianity, p. 136.
20. For ni^/D, thence, LXX, Syr. Yulg. read cw, there.
21. They shall not build, and another inhabit^ The re-
verse of the curse denounced on the disobedient. Dent, xxviii.
30. " Thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell
therein ; thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the
grapes thereof."
22. For as the days of a tree — ] It is commonly sup-
posed, that the oak, one of the most long-lived of the trees,
lasts about a thousand years ; being five hundred years
:T rowing to full perfection, and as many decaying ; which
Keems to be a moderate and probable computation : See
Evelyn. Sylva, B. iii. ch. 3. The present Emperor of
China, in his very ingenious and sensible poem, entituled.
Eloge de Moukden, a translation of which in French was
published at Paris, 1770, speaks of a tree in his country
which lives more than a hundred ages ; and of another,
which after fourscore ages is only in its prime, p. 37, 38.
But his imperial majesty's commentators, in their note on
the place, carry the matter much further ; and quote au-
thority w hich affirms, that the tree last mentioned by the
Emperor, the immortal tree, after having lived len thousand
years, is still only in its prime. I suspect that the Chinese
enlarge somewhat in tlieir national chronology, as well as in
I hut of tlieir trees: See (Jhou King, Preface, by Mons. De
Guignes. The Prophet's idea seems to be, that they shall
live to the age of the antediluvians ; which seems to be very
justly expressed by the days of a tree, according to our no-
tions.
CHAP. LXV. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 401
23. My chosen shall not labour in vain\ I remove 'Tm
from the end of the 22d to the beginning of the 23d verse,
on the authority of LXX, Syr. Vulg. and a MS ; contrary
to the division in the Masoretic text.
Ibid. Neither shall they generate a short-lived racel
rhT\'2b, in festinationem^ what shall soon hasten away.
Etq xuTugav^for a curse, LXX. They seem to have read
rh^; Grotius. But Psal. Ixxviii. 33. both justifies and ex-
plains the word here.
:n'7n33 Dnutyi
" And he consumed their days in vanity;
And their years in haste."
Miza 67tovdriq^ say the LXX. Jerom on this place of Isaiah,
explains it to the same purpose : " «5 etwTrx^^ixv, hoc est, ut
esse desistantP
25. — shall feed together'] For nnxD, as one, an ancient
MS has nn', together ; the usual word, to the same sense,
but very different in the letters. LXX, Syr. and Vulg. seem
to agree with the MS.
CHAPTER LXVI.
This chapter is a continuation of the subject of the fore-
going. The Jews valued themselves much upon their tem-
ple, and the pompons system of services performed in it,
which they supposed were to be of perpetual duration ; and
they assumed great confidence and merit to themselves for
their strict observance of all the externals of their religion.
And at the ver}'^ time when the judgments, denounced in
ver. 6th and 12th of the preceding chapter, were hanging
over their heads, they were rebuilding, by Herod's munifi-
cence, the temple in a most magnificent manner. God ad-
monishes them, that the Most High dwelleth not in temples
made with hands ; and that a mere external worship, how
diligently soever attended, when accompanied with wicked
and idolatrous practices in the worshippers, would never be
accepted by him. This their hypocrisy is set forth in strong
colours ; which brings the Prophet again to the subject of
the former chapter ; and he pursues it in a different manner,
with more express declaration of the new economy, and of
the flourishing state of the church under it. The increase
of the church is to be sudden and astonishing". They that
39*
■102 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LXVC,
escape of the Jews, that is, that become converts to the
Chvistian faith, are to be employed ia the divine mission to
I he Gentiles, and are to act as priests in presenting the Gen-
tile? as an offering to God : see Rom. xv. 16. : And both,
now collected into one body, shall be witnesses of the final
perdition of the obstinate and irreclaimable.
These two chapters manifestly relate to the calling of the
Gentiles, the establishment of the Christian dispensation, and
the reprobation of the apostate Jews, and their destruction
executed by the Romans.
2. — all these things are tnine^ A word, absolutely ne-
cessary to the sense, is here lost out of the text; 'S, mine ;
it is preserved by LXX, and Syr.
'.J. He that slayeth an ox^ killeth a man : — ] These are
instances of extreme wickedness joined with hypocrisy , of the
most flagitious crimes, committed by those who at the san)e
lime affected great strictness in the performance of all the ex-
ternal services of religion. God, by the Prophet Ezekiel, up-
braids the Jev,s with the same practices: "When they had
slain their children to their idols, then they came the same
day into my sanctuary to profane it ; " chap, xxiii. 39. Of
the same kind was the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in our Sa-
viour's time ; '• who devoured widovv's' houses, and for a pre-
tence made long prayers ; " Matt, xxiii. 14.
The generality of interpreters, by departing from the literal
rendering of the text, have totally lost the true sense of il,
and liave substituted in its place what makes no good sense
at all ; for it is not easy to shew, how in any circumstances
sacrifice and murder, the presenting of legal offerings and
idolatrous worship, can possibly be of the same account in the
sight of God.
Ibid. — Uiatmakcth an ohlation\(tfferet}i\ swim^s blood]
A word here likewise, necessary to complete the sense, is
perhaps irrecoverably lost out of the text. The Vulg. an<l
(Jhald. add the word offereth, to make out the sense ; not.
as I imagine, from any diiferent reading, (for the word vi^anted
seems to have been lest befoi e the time of the oldest of them,
as the LXX had it not in their copy), but from mere necessity.
Le Clerc thinks, that n>'So is to be repeated from the
beginning of this member ; but tliat is not the case in the
parallel members, which have another and a different verb
in the second place, "m, sic versiones : putarem tamen
legendum participium aliquod, et quidcm hdt, cum sequatur
CHAP. LXVI. NOTES ON ISAIAH. AOZ
p, nisi jam praecesserat : " Seckek. Houbigant :^upplies hDH,
eateth. After all, I think the most probable word is that
which Chalcl. and Vulg. seem to have designed to represent ;
that is, nnpa.
5. Say ye to your brethren — ] The Syr. reads nos'
DD"nNh> ; and so the LXX, edit. Comp, £f.T«rf aSflcpon viuiov -^
and MS Marcha!. has atJiXcpoi'; ; and so Cyril and Proco-
pius read and explain it. It is not easy to make sense of the
reading of LXX in the other editions : eiTiaze adiltpoi /;«wi
roii iii6ov6iv vfias — but for rj/iccjv^ MS I. D. n. also has vfim.
8. — and who hath seen'] Twenty MSS (four ancient),
and the two oldest editions, with two others, have "di, adding
the conjunction i : and so read all the ancient versions.
11. — fro7n her abundant stores'] For j'lo, two MSS,
.ind the old edition of 1488, have vra; and the latter i
is upon a rasure in three other MSS. It is remarkable, that
Kioichi and Sal. ben Melee, not being able to make any
thing of the word as it stands in the text, says it means the
same with vtd : that is, in effect, they admit of a various
reading, or an error, in the text. But, as Vitringa observes,
what sense is there in sucking nourishment from the splen-
dour of her glory '!■ He therefore endeavours to deduce ano-
ther sense from the word in; but, as far as it appears to me,
without any authority. 1 am more inchned to accede to the
opinion of those learned Rabbins, and to think that there is
some mistake in the word ; for that in truth is their opinion,
though they disguise it by saying, that the corrupted word
means the very same with that which they believe to he
genuine. So in chap. xli. 24. they say, that j?i3N, a viper,
means the same with ddn, nothing ; instead of acknowledg-
iiig that one is written by mistake instead of the other. 1
would propose to read in this place pD, or \\r:, (instead of
xt'o)T from the stores; from p?, to nourish^ to feed : see
Gen. xlv. 23. 2 Chron. xi. 23. Psal. cxliv. 13. And this
perhaps may be meant by Aquila, who renders the word by
ano navdaxia^ : with which that of the Vulgate, " ab omwi-
moda gloria," and of Symmachus and Theodotion, nearly
agree. The Chaldee follows a different reading, without im-
proving the sense ; \'''0,from the wine.
12. — like the great river, and like the overjlowing
stream — ] That is, the Euphrates, (it ought to have been
{:M}inted in:D, utjiuviiis ille, as The River), and the Nile.
Ibid, And ye shall suck at the breast] These two words
-^is H;?, at the breast, seem to have been omitted in the pre-
404 NOTES ON ISAIAH. CHAP. LXVl.
sent text, from their likeness to the two words following ;
iir "7;^, at the side. A very probable conjecture of Houbi-
•lant. Chald. and Vulg". have omitted the two latter words
instead of the two former. See note on chap. Ix. 4.
15. — shall come as a Jlre'\ For jyN3, in fire, the LXX
had in their copy i^ND, as afire ; a? ttv^.
Ibid. To breathe forth his aw^er] Instead of ^''tsrir'^j ^^s
pointed by the Masoretes, to render, I understand it as yvfrh,
to breathe, from Diyj.
17. after tlie rites of Achad — ] The Syrians worshipped
a god called Adad : PUn. Nat. Hist, xxxvii. 11. Macrob.
Sat. i. 23. They held him to be the highest and greatest of
the gods, and to be the same with Jupiter and the Sun :
and the name Adad, says Macrobius, signifies One ; as like-
wise does the word Achad in Isaiah. Many learned men
therefore have supposed, and with some probabihty, that the
Prophet means the same pretended deity, inx, in the
Syrian and Chaldean dialects is nn; and perhaps by redu-
plication of the last letter, to express perfect unity, it may
have become mn, not improperly expressed in Latin by
Macrobius Adad, without the aspirate. It was also pro-
nounced by the Syrians themselves, with a weaker aspirate
nin ; as in Benhaded, Hadadezer, names of their kings,
which were certainly taken from their chief object of worship.
This seems to me to be a probable account of this name.
But the Masoretes correct the text in this place : their
marginal reading is nnx, which is the same word, only in
the feminine form ; and so read thirty MSS (six ancient)
and the two oldest editions. This Le Clerc approves, and
siipposes it to mean Hecate, or the Moon ; and he supports
his hypothesis by arguments not at all improbable. See his
note on the place.
Whatever the particular mode of idolatry which the Pro-
phet refers to might be, the general sense of the place is
perfectly clear. But Chald. and Syr. and after them Syin-
machus and Theodotion, cut ofi" at once all these difficulties,
by taking the word inx in its common meaning, not as a
proper name ; the two latter rendering the sentence thus :
cTTKTu a>M>M'» ev fAia-Cf) evBiovruv ro k^iou; to ^oi^cior, one after another,
in the midst of those that eat swine's fiesh. I suppose, they
all read in their copies nnx nnx, one by one, or perhaps nriN,
-inx nnN, one after another. See a large Dissertation on this
subject in Davidis Millii Dissertationcs Selectee, Dissert, vi.
CHAF. LXVI. NOTES ON ISAIAH. 405
18. For Iknoic their deeds — ] A word is here lost out
of the present text, leaving the sense quite imperfect. The
word is>m', knowings supplied from the Syriac. The Chald.
had the same word in the copy before liim. which he para-
phrases by p^ '^onp, their deeds are manifest before me : and
the Aldine and Complutensian editions of LXX acknowledo-e
the same word, cTrirccfixr, which is verified by MS Pachom. and
the Arabic version. I think there can be little doubt of its-
being genuine.
Ibid. And 1 come — ] For nxr, which will not accord with
any thing in the sentence, I read so, with a MS ; the parti-
ciple answering to ;?nv ; with which agree LXX, Syr. Vulg.
Perhaps it ought to be xm, Syr. qnando veniam : and so LXX,
according to edit. Aid. and Complut. and Cod. March al.
19. — loho draw the hov)] I much suspect, that the words
nrp 'Da?D, who draw the how, are a corruption of the word
'\\b'n, Moschi, the name of a nation situated between the
Euxine and Caspian Seas ; and properly joined with ^3n,
the Tibareni : see Bochart, Phaleg. iii. 12. The LXX
have f^-oirox, without any thing of the drawers of the how: the
word being once taken for a participle, the hoio was added
to make sense of it. ntyp, the how, is omitted in a MS.
Ibid. — ivho never heard myname^ For 'yr2\2f, m,yfanie,
I read with LXX and Syr. •'Oty, m.y name.
20. — a7id in counes] Tliere is a sort of vehicle, much
used in the East, consisting of a pair of hampers, or cradles,
thrown across a camel's back, one on each side ; in each of
which a person is carried. They have a covering to defend
them from the rain and the sun. Thevenot calls them
Counes, i. p. 356. Maillet describes them as covered cages
hanging on both sides of a camel. " At Aleppo," says Dr
Russell, "women of inferiof condition, in longer journies,
are commonly stowed, one on each side ot a mule, in a son
of covered cradles : " Nat. Hist, of Aleppo, p. 89. These
seem to be what the Prophet means by the word D'liy : See
Harmer, Observ. i. p. 445.
21. — and for Levitcs] For D'lS^, fifty-nine MSS (eight
ancient) have d'iS'?!, adding the conjunction i, ns the sense
seems necessarily to require ; and so read all the ancient
versions. See Josh. iii. 3. and the various readings on that
f'lace in Kennicott's Bible.
24. For their ivorm shall not die — ] These words of the
Prophet are applied by our blessed Saviour, Mark ix. 44.
406 NOTES ON ISAIAH, CHAP. LXVI.
to express the everlasting punishment of the wicked in Ge-
henna, or in Hell. Gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom,
was very near to Jerusalem, to the south-east : it Avas the
place where the idolatrous Jews celebrated that horrible rite
of making their children pass through the fire — that is, of
burning them in sacrifice — to Moloch. To put a stop to
this abominable practice, Josiah defiled, or desecrated, the
place, by filling it with human bones ; 2 Kings xxiii. 10.
14. ; and probably it was the custom afterwards to throw out
the carcasses of animals there ; and it became the common
burying-place for the poorer people of Jerusalem. Our
Saviour expressed the state of the blessed by sensible images :
such as Paradise, Abraham's bosom, or, which is the same
thingj a place to recline next to Abraham at table in the king-
dom of heaven: see Matt. viii. 11. ("Csenabat Neiva cum
paucis. Veiento proxi??ms, atque etiam in sinu recumbebat ;"
Plin. Epist. iv. 22. : compare John xiii. 23.) ; for we could
not possibly have any conception of it, but by analogy from
worldly objects. In like manner, he expressed the place of
torment under the image of Gehenna; and the punishment
of the wicked, by the worm which there preyed on the car-
casses, and the fire which consumed the wretched victims : —
marking however, in the strongest manner, the difference
between Gehenna and the invisible place of torment ; namely,
that in the former the suffering is transient — the worm it-
self, that preys on the body, dies ; and the fire, which totally
consumes it, is soon extinguished ; — whereas in the figurative
Gehenna the instruments of punishment shall be everlasting,
and the suffering without end; for there "the worm dieth
not, and the fire is not quenched."
These emblematical images, expressing heaven and hell,
were in use among the Jews before our Saviour's time ; and
in using them he complied with their notions. '• Blessed is
he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God," says the
Jew to our Saviour, Luke xiv. 15. And in regard to Ge-
lienna, the Chaldec paraphrast, as I observed before on
chap. XXX. 33. renders everlasting, or continual, burnings,
by '■ the Gehenna of everlasting fire." And before his time
the Son of Sirach, vii. 17. had said, '• the vengeance of the
ungodly is fire and worms." So likewise the author of the
book of Judith : '• Wo to the nations rising up against my
I:indred : the Lord Almighty will take vengeance of them in
the day of judgment, in putting fire and worms in their Hesh,"
chap. xvi. 17. ; manifestly referring to the same emblem.
INDEX OF TEXTS
OCCASIONALLY ILLUSTRATED.
The small Numeral Letters refer to the pages of the Dissertation ; the
Figures, to the pages of the Notes.
Genesis.
li. 10.
xiii. 10.
xxiv. 47.
xxvi. 20.
XXX. 11.
xxxi. 34.
42, 53.
xxxiii. 13.
xl. 11.
xlii. 6.
xlix. 11.
iv. 10.
Exodus.
Page
145
145
163
307
400
152
198
318
172
351
172
184
204
184
201
342
271
289
342
169
271
213
190
169,170
xli, 183,317
158
397
352
167
392
179
257
224
xxviii. 40.
386
xxix. 6.
386
42, 43.
224
xxxiii. 2 — 4.
14.
392
14, 15.
392
xxxviii. 8.
195
xl. 34—38.
158
— 38.
Leviticus.
169
iv.
138
vi. 12, 13.
184
ix. 24.
184
xi. 7.
398
xiii. 45.
364
xiv. 42.
184
xix. 23—25.
388
xxi. 18.
177
xxii. 23.
177
xxiii. 36.
.139
XXV. 9, &c.
384
xxvi. 8.
Numbers.
285
vi. 4.
174
xi. 5.
137, 240
— 12.
341
xii. 14.
353
xiii. 22, 23.
171
xiv. 34.
244
xvi. 41,42.
158
xxi. 17, 18.
XXXV
xxii. 4.
178
xxiii. 7—10.
224
21,22.
310
408
INDEX OF TEXTS.
Page
Page
xxiv. 6.
356
1 Samuel.
xxix. 35.
139
ii. 27.
iii. 21.
252
252
Deutbronomf.
ix. 7.
374
1.31.
340
— 15.
176
-44.
179
— 25.
250
iii. 25.
171
xiii. 6.
156
vii. 25.
285
xiv. 4, 5.
210
viii. 15.
28o
XV.27.
157
xii. 2, 3.
397
xvii. 52.
275
— 17, 18.
388
xviii. 6, 7.
xli, 317
xvi. 8.
139
xix. 13.
152
xvii. 16.
284
xxiv.
155
16, 17.
151
xxi. 23.
225
2 Samuel,
xxii. 15.
282
vi. 14. 16.
xli
— 8.
250
X. 4, 5.
193
xxiii. 4.
249
xi. 23.
275
xxiv. 1.
352
xiv. 2.
384
XXV. 4.
279
XV. 30.
364
7-
282
xxii. 41.
xii
9.
353
xxiv, 7.
258
xxvii. 15.
374
xxviii. 30.
400
1 Kings.
XXX. 19.
133
iv. 22, 23.
158
xxxi. 21.
132
vii. 2, 3.
251
xxxii.
XXXV
xxxix
X. 16, 17, 21
•257
1.
132
— 26—29.
151
13.
368
— 27.
304
15.
329
xviii. 26.
288
16.
xxxix
38.
178
21.
259
XX. 11.
179
30.
285
xxii. 48.
154
32, 33.
175
49.
154
xxxiii. 5. 26.
329
6.
258
2 Kings.
28.
344
iv. 1.
— 39—41.
352
174
Joshua.
V. 23.
196
iij. 3.
405
ix. 30.
160
V. 6.
190
XV. 3, 4. 34,
35.
152
X.24.
357
— 29.
196, 201
xi. 6.
202
— 37.
136, 186
xv. 2. 5.
214
xvi. 9.
196,232,251
xviii. 19.
214
xvii. 6.
251
xix. 29.
258
6.24.
260
xxii. 14.
157
xviii, xix, xx
302
Judges.
xviii. 8.
226, 243
i. 7.
357
14—16.
293
vi. 2.
156
17.
244
xi, 31.
325
18.
S02
— 34.
317
xviii. 20.
303
xvi. 3, 4.
171
22.
302
XI. 38. 40.
285
32.
302
Ruth.
34.
302
ij. 14.
190
xix. 9.
303
iii. 18.
392
-15.
303
INDEX OP TEXTS.
409
xix 17.
— 19.
— 20.
— 23.
— 25.
— 35.
XX. 4, 5.
— 6.
-7,8.
— 9. 11.
— 12.
— 17.
— 20.
xxi. 13.
xxiii. 10. 14.
12.
19, 20.
xxiv. 14.
XXV. 4, 5.
12. 22.
1 Chronicles.
V. 26.
ix. 33
xiii. 5.
xxviii. 2.
2 Chronicles.
i. 15.
vii. i.
vui. 17, 18.
ix, 18.
— 21.
XX. 20.
— 36.
xxvi. 6, 7.
22.
xxix. 19.
xxxii. 2 — 5.
2, 3. 5. 30.
10.
23
25^26. 30, 31.
27.
30.
32.
33.
xxxiii. 11.
17.
xxxiv. 6, 7. 33.
XXXV. 18.
Pag
3o;
303
304
304
304
305
306
306
306
306
308
309
252
275
406
397
187
157
250
185
V. 17, 18.
xii. 24.
NXHEMIAH.
.. ,^ ESTHBR.
11. 12.
vi. 12. and vii. 8.
196, 201
386
258
383
152
184
154
358
1.
-17.
-19.
iii. 4. 6. 9.
— 24.
V. 23.
viii. 5, 6.
ix. 8.
xii. 13—16.
xiii. 19.
xvii. 3.
XX. 24.
xxi. 18.
xxvi. 2, 3.
xxvi. 5.
xxvii — xxxi.
xxvii. 18.
XXX. 7.
10.
30.
xxxiii. 18.
xxxvii. 9.
-11.
154 xxxviii. 6.
189, xii. 1.
IM
226=
181
240
250
252
135
226, 239
309
296
252
131
253,368
188
152
IB-
IS?
xiii. 10.
i. 2.
iii. 11.
iv. 2.
ix.8.
EZR.1.
40
334
xii, 183
188
256
3.
-4.
7.
1.
.xviii. 35.
xix. 7 — 10.
14.
XX. 1.
7.8.
xxi. 1, 2.
xxii. 2.
•22.
•29.
XXV.
XXX. 5.
xxxi, 19, 20.
<xxii. 3.
txxiv.
1—3.
Job.
Psalms.
166
xii
1«5
«57
246
vui
367
276
liv
368
xvm
354
354
330
3ao
207
^M
137
151
998
1^
308
246
238
195
354
9i3
146
145, 320
308
375
220
xxiv
267
295
807
390
149
iv, V
xvi, 330
xxiv
307
iw, ■».
3l
410
INDEX OF TEXTS.
XXXV. 5.
20.
xxxvii.
1,2.
10, 11.
xxxviii. 9.
19.
20.
xlii, xliii.
xlv. 1.
xlvi. 9.
1. 3.4.
Iviii. 9.
Ix. 1.
Ixii. 4.
Ixiv. 6.
Ixviii. 4. 7.
11, 12.
27.
31.
32.
Ixii. 5.-
28.
Ixxii. 10.
Ixxiii. 4.
Ixxv. 9-.
Ixxvi, title,
Ixxviii- 33.
34.
38, 39.
. 47.
71.
Ixxx. 5.
7.
Ixxxv. 10—14.
Ixxxvi. 14.
Ixxxvii. 6.
xcix. 5.
ci.
cii. G.
ciii. 3.
5.
9.13,14.
11.
11,12.
ciii. 16.
cv. 33.
cviii. 4, 5.
ex. 1.
exi.
- 4.
cxii.
1.
10.
cxiv. 1 — 4.
1,2.
txTi. 1. 9. 12. 14, 15.
Page
320
cxvii. 2.
370
cxviii. 12.
V
cxix.
t^"r
xiii
o/.
xvii
cxx. 1. 6.
307
cxxvii. 4.
xxxii.
cxxxiv.
xxi
cxxxv. 6, 7.
XXV
cxxxvii. 1.
170
2.
202
cxxxix. 14.
132
cxiiv. 5, 6.
205
12—14.
300
cxlv.
284
cxlvi. 2, 3. 10.
210, 331
cxlviii. 7 — 13.
310
317
Proverbs.
344
i. 24—32.
331
iii. 8.
338
9.
xxxii
vi. 16—19.
IGS
— 20.
338
vii. 2.
373
— 22, 23.
142
X. 1. 7.
237
xi. 22.
401
— 24.
34-2
xvi. 33.
375
xviii. 10.
172
xxi. 1.
292
xxiii. 30.
392
XXV. 26.
210, 331
xxix. 26.
337
xx;x.
267
3.
168
xxxi. 10—31.
383
xxvi
ECCLKSIASTKS
265
ii. 5,5.
295
— 8.
319
— 16.
375
xi. 2.
371
Canticles.
XV
i. 5.
316
ii 15.
172
iv. 4.
xxxviii
— 10, 11.
358
viii. 2.
iv, V
xxix
Isaiah.
iv, V
i. 3.
X
-8.
xiii
iii. 1.
xxviii
iv. 1.
310
- 5.
xxi
-22.
371
179. 205
iv, V
333
xxi
xxix
387
xviii
167
229
382
xi
xxiv
iv, V
xxix
xvii
X
136
199
199
162
XV
164
XV
xvi
295
147
141
135
xvi
xix
258
iv
147
157
392
xix
xix
137
257
165
141
XIII
173
167
157
175
141
INDEX OF TEXTS.
411
vi. 13.
viii. 10.
22.
ix. 10.
— 20.
X. 5—12.
— 32.
xiii. 4, 5.
6.
10.
xiv. 4—27.
— 14.
— 28.
XV. 3.
xvi. 10.
ivii. 9.
13.
XX.
xxii.6 .
14.
16.
xxiv. 17.
xxvi. 5, 6.
xivii.7.
xitiii. 14, 15. 18.
xxix. 5.
21.
XXX. 16.
26.
30—33.
xxxi. 8.
9.
xxxii. 11.
xxxiii. 1.
12.
21.
xxiiv.
XXXV. 1,2,
xxxvi, xxxvii, xxxviii,
xxxvi. 17.
xxxvii. 9.
22, &c.
25.
26.
29.
il.2.
xli. 19.
— 24.
— 28.
xliii. 17.
xliii. 18, 19.
xliv. 7.
18.
26.
xlv. 1.
8.
16, 17.
264
xxxii
181
xvii, 204
xiii
334
287
xxiv
175
xxi
xxvi
308
181
xix
173
xxi
320
327
220
175
367, 368
175
xii
175
XXX
320
282
XV
218
281
207
279
247
175
205
xxi
390
371
xxxix 302
260
327
xxvi
244
252
286
xxi
347, 371
403
xii
xxiv, 338
311
210
184
xiv
179
168
xxiv
xlvi. 3.
9.
xlvii. 5.
xlviii. 20, 21.
xlii. 4.
— 20, 21.
1. 5, 6.
-- 10.
li. 7, 8.
-- 17.
-- 19.
-20.
lii. 7, 8. 12.
— 8.
liii. 4.
liv. 4.
-4,5.
— 10.
Iv. 2.
— 3.
-6,7.
— 13.
Ivii. 6.
13, 14.
Iviii. 5-8.
14.
lx.4.
— 6—9.
— 11.
Ixi. 3.
— 7.
Ixv. 11, 12.
21,22.
Ixvi. 1.
i. 6.
— 10.
ii. 18.
ii. 21.
.-25.
-27.
iv. 30.
vi 1.
vii. 22, 23.
— 24.
— 29.
viii. 7.
X. 3—5.
-9.
xii. 7. 9.
xvii. 8
— 12.
xviii. 12.
xix. 9.
XX. 7.
xxiii. 31.
Jkrkmiah.
Page
xi
lir
257
311
xiv
369
xix
XT
xi
142
zix
xlii
311
317
149, 296
X
167
xvii
207
zi
z
347
175
311
zviii
368
351
338
331
175
313
175
zi
358
184
184
258
174
374
135
160
285
329
135
228
133
342
154
372
145,116
J82
374
206
398
250
412
INDEX OF TEXTS.
XXT. 11.
261
xxii. 18—22.
xxxiii. 9,
382
xxiii. 30.
XKXvii. 13
370
^40.
xl. 12.
185
xxiv. 17.
xli. 9.
156
xxvi. 14.
xlviii.
227
15—18.
5.
228
xxvii. 12.
11.
2G8
xxix. 3.
12.
257
18 20.
29.
230
xxxii. 27.
31.
230
xxxvii. 11 — 13
32.
231
xxxviii.
33.
232
xxxix. 4.
.^4.
228
8—10.
36.
228
,230
16, 17.
37.
2-27
,228
xliii. 3.
43, 44.
265
5, 6.
xHx. 35.
220
7.
1.9.
218
-38.
332
li. 27, 28.
218
vii. 17.
--36.
332
viii. 20.
Lamentations
i.
V
i. 7.
- 1, 2.
xxiii
ii. 6.
ii.
V
-18.
-4.
XXV
iv. 13.
-10.
166
,258
V. 7.
- 15.
xxxvi
vi. 4.
iii.
iv, V
— 6.
— 1— G
xxiii
ix. 10.
— 14.
169
X. 8.
— 31.
XXV
xi. 4.
— 39.
313
— 9.
— GG.
169
xii. 1.
iv.
IV, y
xiii. 4.
iv.2.
257
xiv. 9.
— 8.
199
— 15.
xxxvi
,361
— 17.
307
i. 14.
— 21.
246
ii. 2.
— 7.
EZEKIEL.
— 10.
i. 14.
247
— 15.
iii. 8, 9.
354
— 20. 22.
iy. 6.
244
— 26.
V. 13.
142
iii. 10.
xiii. 9.
168
— 13.
16.
223
— 15,16.
XV. 3.
255
— l<i-
— 3,4.
273
xvi. 11, 12.
163
xviL. 22—24.
150
i, 1.
XX. 3. 31.
397
-2.
— 38.
144
iv. 11.
— 47.
305
,208
— 13.
Daniel.
HOSEA.
Joel.
Amos.
Page
168
402
160
364
262
261
154
325
193
217
271
390
226
203
299
184
182
182
261
261
305
272
276
144
151
xii
329
274
156
133
207
332, 374
206
xiv.
139
199
xi
219
139
294
179
150
xiii, 173
219
xiy
178
xiv
208
368
INDEX OF TEXTS.
413
^o?^
Page
V. 10.
282
TOBIT.
- 19.
264
xiii. 16, 17.
370
- 21—24.
139
- 25, 26.
329
Judith.
vi. 3—6.
176
iv.7.
210
— 12.
180
X.3.
384
— 13.
207
xvi. 16.
318
viii. 9.
Micah:
219
17.
Wisdom.
406
i. 3.
368
ii. 7, 8.
274
iii. 1—3.
159
xiii. 11—19.
332
iv. 1—4.
149
XV. 7.
332
— 8.
292
V. 2.
351
ECCLZSIASTICUS.
— 3.
193
vii. 15.
278
vi. 1, 2.
132
— 17.
406
— 15.
xix
xiv. 24.
256
— 16.
169
xxiv. 30, 31.
147
vii. 4.
Nahdm.
272
xlviii. 17.
259
i. 11.
351
Barucb.
- 15.
360
V. 7.
314
ii. 13.
202
— 8.
321
iii. 5, 6.
162
vi.
333
— 14.
322
1
Maccabzxs.
Habakeuk.
V.65.
389
ii.5.
177
2 Maccabxeb.
vi. 18.
398
Zefhaitiah.
vii. 1.
393
i.5.
397
ii. 8—11.
230
Matthew.
iii. 17.
320
iii. 3.
vi. 28— 30.
314
273
Haggai.
viii. 11.
267, 406
ii. 17.
173
17.
X. 27.
296
251
Zkcbariah.
xi. 4, 5.
297
i. 15.
343
xii. 18.
323
ii. .">.
169
xiii. 14.
182, 185
▼iii. 23.
157
XT. 9.
282
ix. 12.
313
xvi. 19.
255
— 14.
246
28.
390
X.4.
256
xviii. 25.
352
xiii. 4.
243
xxi. 33.
173
xiT. 5.
178
43.
282
10.
173
xxiii. 14.
402
— 19.
313
xxiv. 28.
29.
264
219
Malacbi.
41.
343
i. 1.
223
i;. 11.
223
Mark.
— 12.
387
i.3.
2l6
iii. 2,3.
— 15.
168
267
ii. 9.
vii. 7.
992
285
iT. 1.
267
ix.44
40
40*
414
INDex OP TEXTS.
xii. 1.
xiv. 65.
KV. 19.
i. 19.
ij. I.
iii. 4.
iv. 18, v.).
X. 34.
xiv. 15.
IG.
XV. 22.
xviii. I.
31, 32.
xxi. 22.
xxii. 2;», 30.
i. 23.
vii. 37. 39.
xii. 40.
— 41.
xiii. 23.
XV. 0.
xviii. 20, 21.
ii. 3.
— 3:>.
X. 9.
xi. 28.
xii. 8.
xxi. 4.
xxvi. 4, 5.
XKviii. 20.
27.
i. 20.
vi. 17.
iic. 20,21.
LUKK.
John.
Acts.
RoMAKS.
Page
173
ix. 28.
Page
208
354
X. 15.
360
354
-20.
397
xi. 8.
182
392
— 26.
— 30,31.
380
282
219
219
384
XV. 4, 5.
— 12.
-- 12, 13.
138
211
138
136, 214
406
1 Corinthians.
267
202
386
ii. 9.
iii. 15.
394
208
354
Galatians.
390
iii. 3.
316
267
— 13.
Ephesians.
225
214
215
ii. 13. 17.
376
182, 185
Hebrews.
182
406
273
iv. 12.
xiii. 15.
348
376
365
1 Peter.
i. 94.
315
178
!-- 24, 25.
316
376
Rkvelation.
250
219
i. 16.
iii. 7.
348
255
202
iv. 73.
182
262
V. 5.
213
366
vi. 15, 16.
156
182
xiv. 10.
142
185
xix. 13. 15
16.
390
17, 18.
299
XX.
390
327
— 4.
330
216
xxi. 18—21
370
33r
«xii. 16.
213
INDEX OF PERSONS.
Abarbanel, 362, 370
Abendana, 135, 137
Aben-Ezra, 129, 137, 163, 209, 346,
367
Aben Tybbon, xxxv
Abraham, 320
Abydenus, 246, 334
Addison, 167, 202, 235
iEschylus, 254, 356
^tius, 330
Agatharchides, 338
Ahaz, 130, 136
Alexander, 240, 262
Ambrose, 319
Ammianus, 328
Antiochus Epiph. liii.
Antipater, 342
Aquila, xliii, Ivi, 134, 144, 177, 377
Aratus, 254, 278
Arbuthnot, 292
Arias Montanus, 364, 388
Aristophanes, 161, 348
Aristotle, his Treatise on Poetry, zlviii.
Hist. Animal. 228 .
Arnobius, 373
Arrian, 221, 328, 333
AthenEBUs, 359
Aurelius Victor, 358
Azarias, Rab. xxxiii, &c.
Bagot, 208
Balkis, Q.ueen of Sheba, 148
Barry, 268
Bauragarten, 255
Benjamin of Tudela, 222
Berosus, 222, 312
Beryte, I'Evfique de, 29S
Blanchini, 364
Bochart, 140, 154, 171, 228, 235, 280,
294, 319, 338, 405
Breithaupt, 350
Brentius, 151
Brerewood, 335
Bruns, Ivii.
Bryant, 243
Buxtorff, 325, 368
Buxtorff, junior, xxxiii.
Cselius Antipater, 154
Callimachus, 191, 254
Calmet, 227
Cambyses, 240
Camden, 170
Capellus, 267, 323, 354
Casaubon, 365
Castell, 331 , 36G
CastelHo, xxviii, xlix.
Cellarius, 229
Celsius, 144
Celsus, 308
Chandler, Bp. 199, 363, 400
Chappelow, 142, 157, 308
Chardin, 136, 158, 172, 173, 183, 204.
217, 251, 253, 255, 261, 268, 284.
292, 318, 330, 342, 353, 358, 382^
386, 397
Chrysostom, 176
Cicero, iii, 339, 348
Claudian, 304
Clemens Alexand. 161, 254, 373
Rom. 394
Cocceius,246, 288, 379, 397
Columella, 171
CotovicuB, 382
Croesus, 334, 339
Cuper, 363
Curtius, 300, 351
Cyril, 178, 403
Cyrus, 214, 220, 246, 247, 320, 332,
333, 334, 335, 336, 361
Darius Hystaspis, 221
D'Arvieux, 193, 273
De Guignes, 400
De Lisle, 171
Demosthenes, iii, 332
Deschamps, 200
D'Herbelot, 205, 294, 351
Dicsearchus, 260
Diodorus, 236, 240, 253, 314, 339
Doederlein, 284, 350
Donatus, 261
Drusius, 367
Durell, Ivi, 143, 153, 166, 177, 189,
363, 373
416
INDEX OF PERSONS.
Egmont and Heyman, 171, 236, 240
Ephram Syr. 145, 247, 292
Esarhaddon, 187
Eudoxus, 154
Evelyn, 400
Eugene Roger, 162, 171
Euripides, 135, 290, 295
Eusebius, 210, 334
Eustathius, 254
Festus, 365
Furer, 274
Gibson, 170
Glassius, 135
Grabe, ii, Iv.
Gratius, 231
Gregory Naz. 183
Grotius, 241, 295, 312, 401
Hadrian, 185
Hammond, 286
Hanno, 154
Hare, viii, xxxii.
Harmer, 136, 137, 156, 158, 173, 174,
184, 190, 205, 255, 273, 279, 292,
304, 305, 318, 330, ^12, 351, 353,
386, 405
Hasselquist, 137, 172, 175
Herman von der Hardt, ii.
Herodotus, 154, 172, 214, 220, 221,
226,228,236, 244, 247, 260, 328,
330, 333, 334, 353
Hesiod, 290, 363
Hesychius, 339
Hezekiah, 130, 230, 251, 252, 293,
296 302 309
Homer, 141. 180, 191, 223, 228, 238,
254, 280,' 281, 287, 289, 342, 343
357, 358, 367
Horace, 212, 261, 280, 332, 382
Houbigant, xxxi, 139, 151, 157, 175,
177, 192, 204, 211, 215, 233, 251,
263, 269, 274, 277, 284, 285, 286,
295, 300, 302, 306, 308, 309, 321,
325, 326, 329, 337, 370, 371, 379,
383, 384, 396, 398, 403, 404
Huet, 154, 179, 254, 328
Hunt, 162
Hyde, 300, 336
Jarchi, xxxi, 159, 181, 191, 229, 257,
276, 305, 307, 325, 343, 346, 348,
374
Jeplithah, his vow, 325
Jerom, ii, Ivi. 173, 182, 204, 210, 221,
229, 244, 257, 269, 276, 278, 287,
305, 307, 320, 366, 377, 394, 397,
399, 400.
Ikenius, 242
John the Baptist, 313—315
John Hyrcanus, 389
Jonathan Ben Uziel, Iv.
Jones, 213
Joscphus, 155, 210, 222
Jotham, 129
Isaiah 129
Jubb, 'l40, 151, 154, 159, 166, 187.
188, 355, 363, 368, 378, 379, 386',
394
Judas Maccabeus, 389
JuHus Pollux, 161
Justin, 258
Juvenal, 160, 165, 197
Kalinski, 225
Kempfer, 141, 146, 173, 183, 253,
278
Kennicott, 1, Ivii. 203, 215, 300, 301,
364, 367, 384, 405
Kimchi, 135, 137, 143, 149, 170, 177,
180, 188, 197, 206, 207, 209, 212,
233, 238, 241, 246, 248, 286, 306.
320, 325, 346, 364, 370, 380, 385^
403
Labid, 200
Lactantius, 357
Lardner, 365
La Roque, 273
Le Clcrc, 143, 229, 233, 286, 290, 322,
326, 349, 398, 399, 402, 404
Lilienthal, 374, 380, 398
Livy, 249
Locke, 138
Longinus, 135, 332
Lovvman, 381
Lowth, 140, 213, 226, 233, 242. 306
Lucan, 167, 170, 214, 236, 276'
Lucretius, 278, 282, 382
Ludolphus, 315
Macrobius, 404
Maillct, 405
Maimonides, 225, 365
Martial, 150
Maundrell, 145, 146, 147, 155,171,
204, 217, 222, 274, 350, 374
Megasthenes, 246
Meir, Rabbi, 248, 323
Mela, 333
Merrick, 373
Michaelis, 148, 151, 168, 170, 171,
175, 200, 229, 243, 270, 343, 344,
349, 350
Miller, 140, 292
Millius, Dav. 399, 304
Milton. 223
INDEX OP PERSONS.
417
Mocrlius, 208, 373
Mohammed, 148, 155, 200, 25G
Montagu, L. Mary, 305
Moshcim, 313
Montfaucon, Ivi.
Muller, 200, 242
Munster, 363
Nau, 171
Nebuchadnezzar, 227, 210, 240, 257,
2G1,2(;2, 21)7, 333
Nepos, 351
Newton, Sir I. 187, 266
Bp. 240, 2G2
Niebuhr, 148, 193, 278, 353
Ninus, 259
Nonnus, 174
Onkelos, xxxt.
Origen, viii, 346, 366, 377
Osbeck, 368
Ovid, 135, 150, 219, 334
Owen, 243, 394
Pachomius, liv.
Palladius, 171
Paul Lucas, 156, 164
Pausanias, 179
Pekah, 130
Perizonius, 259
Pcrsius, 171
Phile, 319
Philo, xli. 240
Pietro della Valle, 160, 164, 222, 253,
324
Pindar. 341, 349
Plato, 357
Pliny, 140, 146, 154, 160, 176, 236,
308, 335, 404, 406
Pococke, 236, 240, 305
Prideaux, 229, 243, 365, 389
Procopius, xliii. 199, 280, 403
Prodiucs, 165
Psammitichus, 239, 244
Pscllus, 280
Ptolemy Philometer, 242
Soter, 240
Publius, Syr. 165
Randolph, 325
Rauwolf, 272
Reland, 171, 233
Retsin, 130, 185, 194
Russell, 161, 405
Sal. ben Melee, 134, 137, 169, 178,
184, 207. 209, 250, 307, 322, 325,
346, 363, 370, 393, 403
Sale, 148, 2.56, 300
Salmasius, 140, 161
Salvian,219
Sanctius, 101, 166
Sandys, 160, 172,262
Sardanapalus, 215
Scaliger, ii.
Schindler, 137, 201, 270, 367
Schmidius, 387
Schrocdcr, 161, 19.5, 289
Schultens, 137, 157, 200, 231, 237,
238, 356, 393
Seeker, xxxi, Ivi, 143, 159. 169, 177,
189, l:*2, 197, 198, 204, 206, 207,
209, 213, 232, 241, 242, 263, 2G5.
277, 283, 286, 291, 292, 294, 298',
303, 322, 324, 326, 327, 331, 338.
343, 344, 349, 354, 356, 357, 363,
370, 371, 37.5, 377, 378, 395, 396,
403
Semiramis,216, 313. 328
Senacherib, 131, 206, 209, 210, 234,
237, 244, 279, 293, 294, 301, 327
Seneca, 237,264
Servius, 258, 367
Shaln.ancser, 131, 187, 206, 227, 232,
262 275 327
Shawj 160,' 2"oi, 256, 274, 282, 300,
319, 342
Shebna, 252, 253
Sherlock, 152
Simonis, 205, 211, 237,210, 331
Solinus, 170
Solomon, 147, 148, 151,158, 204, 251,
256
Spencer, 330
Strabo, 146, 155, 170, 221, 226, 236,
328, 339
Suetonius, 383
Surenhusius, 364
Symmachus, xliii, Ivi, 144, 177, 216,
326, 330, 345, 364
Tacitus, 883
Tavcrnier, 136, 138, 155, 222, 387
Taylor, Concord. 137, 256
Terence, 262, 312
Tharthan, 243
Themistius, 363
Theocritus, 212
Theodorct, xlii, 176, 168, 225
Theodotion, xliii, Ivi, 134, 144, 177,
385
Theophrastus, 363, 373
Thevenot, 141, 171, 193, 253, 255,268,
284, 405
Tiglath Pilescr, 130, 187, 196, 201,
^04, 232
118
INDEX OF PERSONS.
rirhakah, 244, 327
rraliian, 171
Valesius, 221
Vasco de Gama, 155
Vegetius, 330
i'irgil, 1. 147, 150, 170, 178, 180,
197, 202, 212, 220, 226, 258, 280,
281, 290, 339, 3(38, 371, 398
Titringa, ii, xxxi, 130, 213, 215, 218,
227, 250, 252, 259, 262, 288, 312.
321, 327, 354, 362, 379, 383, 385,'
393, 39G, 397, 403
Ulloa, 140
Vossius, 145
Usher, 187
Uzziah, 129, 226
Wetstein, xlix, 296
Woide, Iv, 269
Wolfius, ii, xxxiii, 215
Xenophon, 160, 165, 180, 214, 218,
220, 225, 333, 334, 335, 336, 342,
353
Xerxes, 221
INDEX OF THINGS.
Acrostic ; see Alphabetical.
Abraham, 320
his bosom, 406
Additions, Hebrew text, xxxv, 192,
218, 286, 306, 344, 345, 369, 379,
384
^neid, xlviii.
Africa, 154
Agriculture, 277
Alcahol, 160
Alexandria, Jewish church there, hii.
■ — many Jews there, 240,
263
Allegory, mystical, 313
Alphabetical, twelve Hebrew poems,
their cause and
use, IV.
Alternate membirs, xix.
singing ; see Responsive.
Anomalies, probably corruptions, 145,
170, 355, 390
Anthropopathia, 142, 287
Ancient versions, lii, 343
confirmed by He-
brew MSS, lii, liii.
-some examples of it.
145, 153, 157, 223, 239, 280, 282,
283,291, 320, 321, 325, 326, 331,
343,345, 349,353, 355, 356, 364,
370, 372, 375, 377, 382, 386, 390,
396, 405
Apocalyps of Elias, 394
Arabic version, liv, 230
Arabs, different sorts of them, 324
Armour, burning of, emblem of peace,
202
Ascension of Esaiah, 394
Assyrians and Babylonians the same,
236
Azotus, 244
Babylon, 245, 259
its naval power, 327
greatness and ruin, 220,
221
Babylon, the total annihilation of its
walls accounted for, 221
how taken, 215, 332, 334
215
Prophecy on it, beautiftil,
deliverance from it, a sha-
dow of deliverance by Christ, 315,
316
Balaam's prophecies, xxii.
Beard, highly honoured in the East.
193
Botsra, 297, 389
Buildings, eastern, 204, 221, 284
Cape of Good Hope passed, 154
Cassiterides, 154
Caverns large, for refuge, 155
Chaldee Paraphrase, xxxi, xxxv, l\,
140, 204, 207, 231, 282, 298, 320,
321,325,345, 380
Chambers, eastern, 305
Chapters, not in order of time, 181
— not rightly divided, 167, 203,
215, 227, 272
Chasdim, Chaldeans, 259
Chinese chronology, 400
Chittim, 257
Chorus, 216, 293, 343, 387
Collation of MSS necessary, xlix.
Heb. MSS, how far useful.
requires long
1, li, liv, Ivii.
examination, Ivii.
MSS of LXX very
desirable, Iv.
Comparison, particles of, omitted, 386
Conjectures, concurrent 284
in correcting, xxxi.
in translating, lii.
the latter as hazardous a»
the former, lii, 396
Construct state for absolute, probably
a mistake, 169, 307-
Construction of sentences, suddenly
changed, 388, 343.
alternate, xix.
420
INDEX OF THINGS.
Coptic version, Iv, 181, 2G0, ^46 3GG
Copyists, Jewish, fallible, xlvii, lii.
their eustonis in wri-
ting, xlvii, 170
Corner, the place oi" honour in the
East, :?(),')
Corruplions, perhaps wilful, liii, 31)5
(^ounes, ail eastern veliiele, 405
(Cymbal, 2U,'>
Cup of God's wrath, 142, 356
Damascus, 145, 232
Delphi, oracle there, 339
Dream, similitude from, 281
Eagle, 319
Cvrus's ensign, 342
Edomites, 297
settled in .ludea, 389
Egypt, 2;54— 23(5, 239, 243
Eiiith, port, 129
Elegiac verses, in Hebrew, xxv.
Ellipsis, 138, 209, 253, 320, 325,
373
English version, vulgar, xxix, xli,
Iviii.
revision of it expedient,
hi, lix.
versions old, sometimes
better, 302
Eshcol, 171
Euphrates, 32H, 333
Eziongeber, 154
Expedition of eastern monarchs, the
manner of it, 313
Fathers, Christian, generally bad com-
mentators on the prophecies, xliii.
Pigs, 274
Flocks, great care in driving them
necessary, 318
Footstool, 357, 383
Fuel, 273
Gardens in the East, 145
Garments, transparent, 1(15
Gate, the place of judicature, 262
Gehenna, 2S6, 406
Gemara of Babylon, 364
Gentiles called " by Christ, 355, 3G9,
381, 396. 402
Girdle, 17i), 212
Glosses, from margin into text, 192,
285
Gog and Magog, 390
Golden ar;e, 212
Gourd-kind, fruits of the, much in re-
quest in the East, 137
Greek New Test, its non-integrity,
xlv, xlvi.
version of the Old Testament,
its importance, liii, 139, 185, 192,
213,233,282, 284, 291, 300, 304,
308, 315, 330, 392
• interjiolated, 181
altered, perhaps wilful-
ly, liii, 243
MSS of LXX very
nseful, 106, 230, 232, 244, 264, 284,
289, 329, 330, 380, 385, 392
collation of them
now necessary, liv.
MS Pachom. and MS
1. D. II. Br. Mus. liv, 166, 181, 209,
219,2.31,232, 218, 284, 289, 324,
329, 337, 349, 3S0, 385
Groves, sacred, 143
Hades, image of, 177, 216
Halle Bible, Ivi. "
Half-pause, in long verses, xxv, xxvii.
Hands, marks- on, 330, 350
Harbinger of eastern monarchs, 313
Harian metre confuted, viii.
Hebraisms, 274, 310
Heb. alphabet, only consonants, vii.
' Bible, left complete by Ezra,
mistakes in it early, ixxiii,
315, 395
now incorrect, xlvii.
its integrity strangely be-
lieved, xlv.
its true readings how recov-
erable, liii.
letters similar, the sources of
error, xlvi, xlvii.
MSS, now extant, how old, I,
Iviii.
• the present collation of them ,
1, li, Iv.
poetry, its characteristic, xl.
verses not in rhyme, vii, viii.
longer and shorter, xxii — xxvii.
words single, require many En-
glish, xxxvi.
Homage, eastern modes of, 351,
357
Horites, 155
Hosts, for God of Hosts, 138
Houses in the East, 250
Hunting, ancient, 264
.Tackal, 137
Idolatry exposed, 331
Idolatrous practices among the Jewo,
397, 399
INDEX OF THINGS.
421
Idumea, 389
Jerusalem, the Valley of Vision, 250
Jeshurun, 329
Jewels of the feet, nostrils, &c. 1G2
Jews, great destructions of them, 185
present dispersion, with a confes-
sion for them, 391
Iliad, xlviii.
Imarres poetical, from nature, &c. 153,
337
emblematical of heaven and
hell, 406
Infinitives absolute, for tenses past,
247
signify imperatively, 291
Intercalary stanza, xxvi.
Interpolation ; see Jldditions.
Job, Ijooic, already allowed poetical, ii,
xxii.
Isaiah, book, lii.
history of its time, 129
Notes here, their design,
Ix.
Israel sometimes means the Messiah,
349
people, carried away, in Cth
Hezekiah, 131
finilly, 22d
Manasseh, 187
Judea called the Mountain, 170
wilderness of, 314
Keys, ancient, 254
mark of office, 254
Kingdom of Christ, under the image
of a feast, 2o7, 406
Koran, 155, 200, 256, 300
Lake, below the wine-press, 173
Latter days, 149
Lebanon, House of the Forest of, 257
and Carmel, 2d2
Leviathan, the crocodile, and the ser-
pent, 272
Libation, 283
Literal sense, the necessary founda-
tion of all interpretations, xli, xlii,
Ix.
■ may be the mystical, or
spiritual, 3G2
is so ; see Messiah.
London Polyglott, lii
Magian religion, 335
Marks on the hands, 330, 350
Mashal, its nature, xxx, 184, 223,277,
282
Masoretes, their pauses and punctua-
tion, viii, XX, xUii.
41
Ma^orptes, WTctched critics, 326
^'e.li(•(■all MS of Virjril. Ii.
Medicine and surgery, 136
Messiah himself, KiS, 1,^2, 186 192,
195, 211, 2.'»1, 310, 323, 337, 347,
318, 319, 353, 361, 365, 368, 369,
378,389 ' ' ' ' »
his kingdom, 148, 182, 186,
195,21)1,211, 214, 206, 267, 291,
310 312, 310, 338, 355, 369, 378
381,389,396,401
Metre of things ; sec Bhythmus.
Mills, grinding at, the work of fe-
males, 312
Mirrors of metal, 195
Mishna, 361
Moukden, present Emperor of China's
poem, 400
Mizmor, its nature, xl.
Naharaga, 333
Naharmalca,328, 333
Nails, ancient, 255
Necromancy, 2o0
Negative, understood as if repeated,
258, 320
Nile, 237, 240, 258
■ Shichor, 258
Nose-jewels, 163
Ode on K. Babylon, most excellent,
216—218
Old Testament, defective method of
studying it, xliii.
Omissions, Heb. Text, xxv, lii, 134,
151,153, 157, 166, 175, 180, 181,
19W, 213, 219, 223, 228, 211, 252,
253, :ii82, 283, 2d5, 291, 2;)9, 301,
303,308,321, 35i2, 3-J5, 330, 333,
314, 345, 34!», 351, 354, 364, 370,
371, 374, 37(5, 377, 379, 384, 385,
402, 403, 405.
Onias's temple, 242
Ophel, 291.
Ophir, 154.
Pallacopas, 333.
Palm-wine, 176, 263.
Parabolic style, 153, 218, 205, 272,
320, 323, 347, 352, 370, 371, 381.
Parallelism of verses or lines, ix, xxxii.
attention to, useful in in-
terpreting poetical parts of iScrip-
turc, xxx.
Parallel lines, synonymous, ix.
antithetic, ix, xv.
synthetic, ix, xvii.
places, useful in correcting,
422
INDEX OF THINGS.
227, 228, 230—232, 302, 306, 309,
315.
Paronomasia, 175, 265, 290, 308, 384.
Participle, for future tense, 331.
Passover, the manner of that deliver-
ance, 288.
Perfumes, eastern, 165.
Personification, iv.
Port, the, whence the name, 283.
Presents to the great in the East ne-
cessary, 374.
Prophecies of Isaiah, not prose, ii.
not now in order
of time, 136, 181.
Prosopopoeia, 217.
Proverbs of Solomon, xvi, xxii.
allowed poetical, ii.
Psalms, already allowed poetical, ii,
xxii.
ill-divided, xxvi.
Rabbinical evasion, 403.
Responsive song, xli, 183, 272, 316,
317.
Resurrection, a common doctrine, 271.
Rhythmus of things, xxxiii — xli.
Rice, how planted, 292.
Romans, destruction of Jerusalem by,
262.
Saba, reservoir of, 148.
Sahidic version, 366.
Samaria, 273.
Scoffers, 275.
Seder Olam, 187.
Separation of Psalms, xxvi.
words, 284, 373.
Sepulchres, 253, 367, 368.
Sickness and sin considered as equi-
valent, 295.
Sidon, mother-city of Tyre, 258.
Siloah, 196, 252.
Singulars sometimes for plurals, 331.
Sitting in the East, common manner
of, 358.
in state, 358.
Sistrum, 235.
Sorek, in Judah, vines of, 171.
Spanish version, 139, 161.
Speech of ghosts supposed feeble, 280.
Spitting, an expression of detestation,
353.
Standard copy, none infallible, liii.
Strong drink, 176, 263.
Supreme Beings, two, Persian, 335.
Syriac version, Iv, 213, 2'il, 355, 392.
Tabor, Mount, 171.
Talmud, Babylonish, 158, 349.
Tarshish, where, 154, 257.
- ships, 154, 257.
Teraphim consulted, 152.
Threshing, 247, 269, 278.
Tophet, 286.
Transcribers ; see Copyists.
Translations, modern, whether in L -
tin, or for the use of the Protestant
Churches, all from the pointed He-
brew text, xliii.
Translator's duty, xxviii, xxix, xlii.
Transpositions, Hebrew text, 186, 198,
307.
Treasures of Cyrus, 335.
Trees, long-lived, 400.
Troglodytes, 155.
Tyre, 257—262.
Van, ancient, 285.
Various readings, Hebrew, publication
of commended, xlix.
Veil, to shade the court, 318.
Ventriloqui, 280.
Verse, its characteristics, iv — viii, xx.
xli.
Verses, ill-divided, 139, 218, 299, 401.
long or sh^ r xxii.
Versions of versions useful, Iv, 180,
230.
Vineyard-tower, 173.
Vines, large trunks of, 172.
• poisonous fruit of, 174.
Vowel points, not original, nor by
Ezra, xliv.
Vulgate, xxviii, Ivi, 135, 175, 185,
198, 218, 252, 285, 301, 321, 322,
325.
authentic, by Council of
Trent, xlv.
Wardrobes, Eastern, 158.
Watchmen in the Temple, 387.
Water, in gardens, 145.
Wine mixed, 141.
Wine-press, 173.
Wines, 207.
Women celebrate great events, 317.
Words, many jiow lost in the text of
Isaiah, lii.
wrongly divided, 153, 273.
World, sometimes for land or country,
219, 263,
INDEX OP THINGS,
423
♦jnx fornins 183, 203, 205, 207,
213, 285, 307.
n'N and yx, 392.
D"N and D"y, 259, 262, 325.
2 and 3 mistaken, 177, 189, 209,
228, 380, 404.
B«<Tj^Ao/, 373.
mn3, 368.
n and 1 mistaken, 197, 198,204,
228, 251, 26 ,^81, 285, o£6.
]vb:, 195.
1 omitted at the half-pause, xxv.
1 for nb), 258.
Dm and d-it changed, 266, 267.
■• necessary, 1st person preterite,
270, 325.
n.'Dn, punishment for sin, 313,
nS and i'7 changed, 285, 290,
iro'? and ij'? changed, 210, 2'.0
330. 6 ' J ,
D, plural termination, frequent-
ly omitted, 170, 355.
iinin, xl.
bmo, as D, 265,
bwi^, XXX, 223, 277, 282.
D2ti'rD, 323.
DNJ, solemn delivery of prophe-
cy, 250.
nD£3, 288.
npny, 323, 355.
^ity, the glowing sand in the
East, 300.
RemarJcabl
'e Variations
tie Simil
Text.
Variations.
^1p3
;roii'n
Tki"1
D'U
yDN'73
11>M
tyini
DonD
DxnD
pn*?
n3;r
in
D»U
D'ln
nn'
nnxD
Chapter,
Variations in the Text of Isaiah, tohere there is lit-
'^ ; between the Wi
ix, 8. Chald.
xxiv. 18. MS, Chald. Vulg.
xxxvii.O.LXX and parallel place.
xxxvii. 18. ten MSS.
xxxvii. 24. LXX, Syr.
xlii. 19. MS, Sym.
xlvii. 9. LXX, Syr,
xlix. 24. Syr. Vulg.
lii. 9. two MSS.
hiii. 10. eight MSS, Syr.
Ix. 4, MS.
Ixiii. 11. two MSS, vet. edit, Syr.
Ixiii. 16. MS.
Ixiii. 18. LXX.
xliv. 2. four MSS.
Ixv. 25. MS, LXX, Syr. Vulg.
THE END.
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